


Trouble Returns

by qwerth



Series: Tsuki's Misadventures in the Devildom [8]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Canon-Typical Violence, Celestial Realm, Established Relationship, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Human Realm, Implied Sexual Content, Mentions of Spiders, Multi, Music, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Platonic Relationships, So Many Swears, Spiders, and my own lore, fuck canon i make my own canon, im back with my music references deep tied together in my narrative, lots of magic, lots of past trauma, sorry if you have any spider triggers but theres a spider plotline here now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:29:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 71,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28511940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qwerth/pseuds/qwerth
Summary: Part 3 of Trouble SeriesDirect continuation of Troubling RoadsOne year after the exchange program, Tsuki is just minding their own business when Solomon appears out of nowhere and brings them back to the Devildom, starting a new adventure.Note: this work will NOT follow the game canon
Relationships: Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Character(s), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Reader, Lucifer/Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Everyone
Series: Tsuki's Misadventures in the Devildom [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1807312
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	1. Friend of The Devil

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, is me, the author of this novel-length fic x_x After months of going back and forth with writing this part, I decided to just write/post to get over it.  
> A few warnings: this is NOT canon compliant AT ALL. I'm doing an original run of the story (just like part 2), I will use a few plot points from lessons 21 onwards but like, super minor spoilers that won't get in the way of your gaming. I basically grabbed a few plot points and went "hum, what if I made this BETTER?" sorry not sorry but the story of OM is a bit mediocre, which is a shame, because I feel like it's full of (wasted) potential. And I try to expand on this potential here.  
> Also, this mature rating probably won't stay long LOL  
> And, lots of extra/new characters to freshen out the story and keep things interesting, I hope everyone like my OCs!
> 
> That's it for now folks, have a good reading ^^
> 
> Song title is Friend Of The Devil by Adam Jensen!  
> “I'm a friend of the devil. I'm a dangerous rebel. It's the life that I can't escape, can't walk away.”

**Chapter 1 – Friend of The Devil**

The sun is punishing the sinners of this godforsaken land. This heat wave is strong and merciless and the spring has barely started! After the last session of therapy, you decided to walk around the city for a while to pass time. Unfortunately you have underestimated the intensity of the bright sun. Ever since moving out of your parents’ house, taking it easy and killing time after the therapy sessions has become normal. Just not today. This hot weather is not nice. Searching shelter from the sun, you enter a familiar café to drink some iced chocolate café to cool down before taking the bus back home.

Ever since the demon brothers visited you six months ago you have been living alone in a small apartment close to your auntie’s house. Can’t stay with mom and dad after that disastrous dinner, after all. They started sending cold looks to you and barely talking. When you said you were moving out, they didn’t make a fuss. They were pretty indifferent actually… Only told you to be careful and to not waste all your money on unnecessary things. You have a feeling they got really, really scared by the demons and decided to not bother you anymore. Maybe they even got suspicious of the boys giving you money to move thanks to it being so sudden. In all fairness, it is better like this; you were basically lying to them the whole time just to keep on their good side. Mom called each week to make sure things were okay until you had been away for two months. Father only called once, after a month. His call was short and directly to the point, as usual. No one has called this last month, not even auntie, but auntie normally only texts anyway.

Your routine has been kept the same: therapy once a week, gym three to four times a week, and magic practices three to four times a week as well. Since you have given up on picking a long-term job to keep a ‘human’ lifestyle, you started feeling less and less bothered by not having a job. Even if you can’t stay in the Devildom forever, you got close to Barbara Agnes, the Witch, and becoming a magician doesn’t sound too bad to be honest. At least you can live practicing magic around a smaller circle of humans. And who knows, Ms. Agnes says you have great potential, maybe you can easily pursue a lifestyle like hers. At least you’ll look normal next to most witches and sorcerers, who are  _ very _ eccentric.

In the end, you also ask for a piece of apple pie to eat with your drink. You spend time playing with your phone for a while, cooling off thanks to the place’s air conditioning. You are about to get up to leave when Mammon sends you a text. Curiously, you open it right away. He’s complaining about a long and boring student council meeting. Laughing at his exaggeration, you tell him to pay attention to it, since if Lucifer catches him slacking off while Diavolo is talking, he’ll be pissed. The greed demon doesn’t care, of course. He asks about your day and you give him the boring truth: you are just sitting alone at a café after having spent an hour boring your therapist to death with your never-ending issues. Do you know your brain is sick? Yes. Can you do anything about it? Apparently not. It’s a work in progress. A very slow work in progress. 

Mammon says a lot of random bullshit until he has to put his phone down since Lucifer is looking at him. You laugh at the mental image of Lucifer’s cold piercing eyes fixed on Mammon while he sits sloppily on a chair, hiding his phone under the council table. When Mammon stops texting, you get up to leave.

It’s still so damn hot outside. Now that you spoke to Mammon, you miss the Devildom even more. The climate there is a lot colder than this Hell you live in. The Devildom has cool weather where you can use a light jacket or coat over normal clothes and do stuff without sweating or freezing to death.  _ Sigh _ . You miss that place.

And the demons. And the angels, they were always so nice to you. Luke is so cute, like a cute little brother. You even miss the Prince and his exceptional butler.

“Did you miss me?”

Yelling, you turn around. This voice came from so close behind you. The muscles on your leg are already ready for kicking when you recognize Solomon in the middle of the street.

“Good grief, Solomon, do you want me to break your nose with my leg?”

The sorcerer laughs, very amused by those words. Even though Solomon was the only one who promised to meet up with you in the human world, he never did. He barely texted too. On the contrary, it was you who started many chats with the magician, most of them being doubts and help requests with your magic teaching. He never even mentioned meeting up again after the last day of the exchange program.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t do that.” He’s still giggling. His clothes are the same as always, which makes you raise an eyebrow.

“How are you not melting?”

“It  _ is _ hot, right?” Saying so, he uses a piece of his own cape to dry sweat from his face. “In fact, it’s  _ too _ hot here, we should go somewhere colder.”

“I agree, you are lucky I am free now. So, do you have anywhere you want to go?”

“Oh, in fact, I do,” he smiles. While it's true he’s always in a good mood, something makes this feel off to you.

But before you can ask where, Solomon moves his hand. A strong wind seems to appear out of nowhere and your vision goes white.

  
  


“All right, next I would like to discuss guidelines for how to proceed when a witches’ sabbath requests a summoning without having submitted an application in advance…”

Lord Diavolo is laying down all the new guidelines. But that awful, ridiculous excuse of a demon called Mammon is chatting on his D.D.D.! And not only that, when he stops, he has the nerve to start talking to Satan as well.

“ _ Give me a break?”  _ Lucifer coldly repeats Mammon’s last line, making the other demon gulp in fear. “Do you have any problem with the new guidelines Lord Diavolo is showing us, Mammon?” He is well aware he stopped Lord Diavolo’s speech as well, but he must put Mammon back in his place.

“N-no. I think they are great! Totally!” the greed demon frantically says. “I am a fan of guidelines!”

“So, what has Lord Diavolo just said?  _ Maaamooon _ ?”

“Eh?! Wait, what’s…?”

A flash of light catches Lucifer’s eyes. A portal materializes just above the student council table. Asmo yells sharply about something falling through the portal and Lucifer is already in defense mode. Whoever it is has picked the wrong place to appear, as he’s going to do whatever is necessary to protect his lord and his brothers. To his immense surprise, Solomon lands on the ground near Beel and someone else falls heavily on top of Satan.  _ It cannot be _ .

“Whoops, sorry Tsuki, I should have warned you to be careful where you land…”

“Ts—”

“AAAAAAAH! Wha…Wha, WHA! Is this really,  _ Tsuki?! _ Are you really here?! REALLY?” Levi’s screams cut off Lucifer’s shocked words.

Not only Levi, all the others are screaming and fanboying all over Tsuki. Aside from Satan, who is trying to stand up after Tsuki hastily gets on their feet, looking with a mix of surprise and nervousness at the avatar of wrath. Honestly, Lucifer can’t believe his eyes, what is this human doing here?! Unsure, he looks at Lord Diavolo; maybe he planned this interruption behind his back. But his Lord is completely still, with wide eyes staring at the scene before him. Ah, so, no, he didn’t plan it… That means.  _ Solomon _ . The wretched magician… What is he thinking? 

“Tsuki… Do you want to tell me why you just appeared out of thin air and landed on my head?” Satan quietly asks, rubbing his head. 

“Because…gravity?” they tilt their head, trying to help Satan get back on his feet. “Actually, I can’t believe you didn’t catch me.”  _ ‘Yes, this is one hundred percent Tsuki.’ _

“ **Catch you** ? How exactly was I  _ supposed _ to do that?” Satan complains, moving a hand to his chest. “It’s not like you gave me any warning that you were about to come tumbling down onto me.”

“Sorry,” they stutter and fidget with their hands in a nervous way. “You’re rig—”

“But you knew what was coming. You could've moved out of the way,” Asmo points out to Satan.

“You. Shut up.” Satan squints his eyes to Asmo.

“Who would have known! Tsuki, it is really you!” Lord Diavolo cheerfully says, his previously shocked expression has dissolved into one of happiness. “Wait, you didn’t perform some sort of unsavory ritual to cast your soul down here, did you? You better not have!” he laughs. His words make Lucifer feel mortified, even though, in the back of his head, he knows his Lord is only kidding. It was the damn sorcerer’s plan, isn’t that right? “I can’t believe you’re actually back here with us again!”

“This is indeed a happy surprise,” Barbatos agrees.

“Tsuki.” Lucifer opens a way through the demons to look his lover up and down. They are indeed here. With a tank top, shorts, sandals and a cap. He has never seen them dressed like this. The closest was when they went to the beach. They are carrying a small bag all decorated with anime buttons and half of their blonde hair is purple now. Now that Lucifer sees it, he remembers the human saying they are going to dye it back to purple next. 

Lucifer puts a hand on their shoulder just to make sure they are actually here and he’s not dreaming or something. They feel really solid. Their smell matches too. “I—I’m really glad to see you again.” He shakes his head and decides to leave his doubts behind for now. “Could at least have told us you were coming,” he tries to say it playfully, to ease the mood, but it comes off a bit forced. 

The human looks a bit confused as well. They have had their lips pressed together ever since they got here, and they keep looking to the sides, like they are unsure of where they are. Their hands are kept together, always fidgeting.

“Uh… Surprise?” They show him a forced smile.

“Really? That’s all you have to say? ‘Surprise’?” Mammon comments. Lucifer doesn’t know if he’s scolding Tsuki or if he’s just shocked.

“Who cares! Tsuki is back in the Devildom!” Asmo yells, commemorating. 

The avatar of pride is forced to let go of the human to face the sorcerer, who is having too much of a good time. Looks like his brothers are already arguing over which room Tsuki is going to stay in… As if they can’t just clean their old room without much problem.

“So, Solomon,” he starts, getting closer, “what was that about? Suddenly coming unannounced and with Tsuki tagging along.”

“Yes, that's a bit too unexpected, even for you,” Lord Diavolo agrees. As soon as he turns to Solomon, he loses his smile.

“Haha, aren’t you two happy about our surprise visit?” Solomon questions. “I mean no trouble, I simply thought it would be a nice way to brighten everyone’s day.”

A growl leaves Lucifer while he glares at the carefree sorcerer, not believing a single word. What is he hiding? Lucifer never liked this crazy human magician. 

“Hmm, we are happy to see you two again, however, we are in the middle of a very important meeting,” Lord Diavolo explains, still pretty serious.  _ Good _ , so it’s not only Lucifer being too suspicious. “It’s currently a busy period for us at RAD. Maybe you two could wait until we are done? What do you say, Lucifer?”

“Yes, of course, my Lord,” he agrees immediately. “We’ll talk about things calmly after this meeting.” He tears his eyes off Solomon to approach the other human again. He smiles in a more relaxed way when Tsuki’s eyes meet his again. They still look a bit frightened. The demon is not sure why, shouldn’t they be jumping with excitement? Isn’t being back here the thing they wanted the most? “Tsuki, take this.” He reaches for a pocket and takes out a big old key with a bat keyring. “This is the key to the House of Lamentation. Go back there and wait for us. We’ll go straight back home as soon as this meeting ends.”

Tsuki’s eyes widen and they raise both hands to hold the house key. They hold it gently, staring intensely at it for a second. 

“Really? You are giving me the key to the house?!” they say, looking at Lucifer, then back at the key.

“Why are you so surprised? Isn’t the House of Lamentation your home as well?” Lucifer says carefully. He really can’t tell why they are acting like it’s a big deal. Tsuki holds the key with both hands like it’s precious and nods energetically. After one more moment he realizes why: they never trusted the house’s key to the human because they aren’t supposed to leave the house alone. So, it IS a big deal to them, it must be a proof of trust.

Solomon offers to go together with Tsuki to the house and they agree. Tsuki and Solomon both wave and smile before they leave the council room. As soon as the door closes Lucifer starts worrying.  _ ‘Why did this awful sorcerer bring them back? What is he after?’ _ he questions in his mind. But he can’t give him the luxury of being too worried about it. No. Lord Diavolo’s time is precious and Lucifer is going to make sure this meeting doesn’t last long. 

  
  


After the initial shock, you feel more at ease. Walking down the corridors of RAD brings many memories. Bad and good. When your brain finally registers that this isn’t a dream—and if it is, you don’t want to wake up—you start to excitedly walk down the hallway, waving funnily at the demons who stare at you in shock. Ah, you should find Mephisto. He will be so happy to see you again after almost a year! Unfortunately, you don’t see him in the corridors. You think about messaging him, but you want to make a surprise.

On the walk to the house of lamentation you ask Solomon what this big idea of his was. “Technically, you said you were free,” is his defense. Solomon only laughs and says he has been missing everyone too. You roll your eyes and smack him in the arm. Shady fucker is being shady as usual. Figures.

Arriving at the familiar gothic house, you use the old fashioned key that you have been griping for dear life ever since Lucifer gave it to you. It opens, because, of course it does, what did you expect? The sorcerer follows you at the main entrance but it’s only to give you a goodbye, as he wants to go visit the Purgatory Hall. Whatever. You close the door when Solomon leaves and wonder if the boys have keys as well. Should you lock the door? It can only go two ways: either you’ll lock everyone out, or leave it open and risk Lucifer complaining about you being unprotected. Since the brothers have phones, they can easily call you to open it. In the end, you lock the door and store the key in your bag. 

You go straight to your old room. It is like the last time you saw it; everything’s in place, but covered in dust. The plants are very lush. The dust makes your nose itch, but this is no problem to the House familiars. You call out the Little Ds and they appear out of nowhere in no time. “Master Tsuki!” they commemorate excitedly, jumping onto you to give small hugs. The little demons help you clean the dust and open the windows. A cold breeze comes from the window and it makes you shiver. Ah yes, no more heat waves. This is indeed the Devildom.

With the room clean, you leave to see if there’s anything in the fridge. To no one’s surprise, it is almost empty. It has water at least. After a small break with the Little Ds, you get a text from Asmo saying they are on the way. Excited again, you walk to the common room to wait for the boys. The demons make another party when they are all back (seems like you made the right choice by locking the door). 

The demons want to know what you want for dinner. They had stopped by the market and brought enough ingredients to make human, demon, and even celestial food. You laugh and say you would be fine just eating Devildom food, but agree to split the meal into your favorite Devildom and human dishes. They don’t let you cook, however.

“Ah, here!” you tug Lucifer’s coat and show him the key. The demon stares at it for a second. “I took care of the key with my life!”

“You don’t have to act so dramatic about it,” Belphie waves his hand at you, “it’s just a key.”

“It’s  _ not _ just a key!” you stomp your foot in frustration. “It’s the key of the House where all Seven Rules of Hell live! I was never entrusted The Key before.” As you explain your face gets hotter and hotter.

“Uh… It isn’t because we didn’t trust you,” Satan starts talking, shaking his head. “The reason we never gave you the key is because we were afraid of you leaving the house alone and getting hurt by a demon in the streets.”

“Oh,” your shoulders drop at once. That makes a lot of sense. Well, it definitely didn’t stop you from leaving even without a key but it makes sense anyway. Lucifer takes the key from your hands and smiles softly.

“If it means so much for you, I’ll make a copy. As long as you never leave alone, that’s it.”

“Ah! I—Thank you!” you politely bow. Smiling, you take a look at the mess Mammon and Beel are making in the kitchen. Both human and demon food is mixed together over the table. Are they keeping track of the dishes properly…? You try to go to make sure they know what they are doing but Asmo drags you by your shirt outside, saying that as the visitor, you can’t cook. What the Hell, you like cooking.

“Oh, Tsuki, you don’t know the headache I had to suffer on the way here,” Lucifer shakes his head, a tired expression tainting his beautiful features. “They just kept arguing on what you would like to eat the most. All it took was you coming back to the Devildom and they have all lost their heads! I mean, really, you all need to learn how to maintain at least a semblance of composure,” Lucifer scolds his brothers, keeping his arms crossed.

“Really,  _ us _ , Lucifer?” Satan inquires, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, Lucifer, you have been all restless and excited ever since Tsuki showed up. And you know it!” Levi calls out.

“Well, he’s not the only one, right?” Asmo laughs and winks. The avatar of lust rests his chin on the top of your head. “All seven of us have been so amped we couldn’t even keep sitting still!”

“Sure, but no one lost their cool as much as Lucifer,” the avatar of wrath speaks again, and he looks at you with a funny expression. “He started talking a mile a minute, going off on tangents and even rambling about stuff that had nothing to do with the meeting!” He ends with a knowing wink. Oh goodness, that sounds  _ hilarious! _

“True, not even Lord Diavolo could stand it for long,” Belphie sighs loudly, seeming to be tired just from remembering it. “He said it was clear we were making no progress so he ended up and let us return home. Which I thought was great because,  _ damned Hell _ , that was  _ boring.” _

“You are all  _ wrong _ ,” the avatar of pride growls, anger clear in his tone. He looks to the side, fuming. “I didn’t speed up our meeting because I was  _ restless _ or  _ excited _ or  _ amped up! _ It’s just that Lord Diavolo’s time is precious and I didn’t want to use any more than was necessary…”

“Whatever you say, Lucifer,” Asmo giggles, amused by seeing his older brother blushing furiously under his denial. You giggle too. It’s obvious that Lucifer is also excited about having you visit. Seeing him denying something this much is unusual…and funny. It makes you happy to see how excited everyone is.

Lucifer gets too tired of being teased and drags you out of the kitchen. He sits with you, Belphie and Levi in the dining room to wait until the others finish dinner. Levi and Belphie quickly start going on several stories about what happened since you left. Time seems to fly; it feels like no time has passed when Beel and the others come with the food. A crazy mix of human food and Devildom typical dishes are laid over the table and you don’t even know where to start eating.

With a full and happy stomach, the demons finally drift from their life without you to ask about your life back in the human world. Which feels a little boring, considering you have been telling them  _ everything _ . After you embarrassingly admit you have done nothing too exciting lately, Satan decides to ask about the magic training.

“You never talked much about Barbara and your training aside from some progress and asking me tips,” he reminds you. “What has it been like? Is witch training similar to RAD?”

“Is it?” Mammon says curiously.

“I would  _ love _ to know more as well,” Lucifer adds, with that serious and suspicious expression of his. The avatar of pride has always been the only one not to like the fact that you decided to train with the witches.

“Alright, I’ll tell you everything!” You raise your hands in a peace gesture.  _ So overprotective _ . “I guess it isn’t too different from RAD? Well, for starters, I study at Ms. Agnes's house. She has a big old house with a lot of magic stuff and space for practice. All of her property is covered with illusion spells to make sure normal humans don't suspect a thing,” you explain and pause to think what more to tell them. “Well, most days I am not the only apprentice, she normally has at least one more. Usually we are three or four, but since most of them are more advanced than me, I am the only one who gets to spend more time studying with Ms. Agnes. She’s kind and patient and a great teacher, I really can’t complain about her.”

A low ‘hmm’ sound comes from Lucifer. He seems to detest witches, doesn’t he? Either that or he’s jealous.

“Barbara is a great woman, I’m glad you can learn well under her,” Satan exclaims, smiling. “Ah, I wish she could have summoned me so we could have spent some time together.” At this, his brothers start to hiss and boo him, but Satan doesn’t mind. “What about the other apprentices, have you made any friends?”

_ “Ah.” _ You look away from the demon, feeling nervous. Honestly, why did he have to ask? “Uh, no…”

“No?” Beel tilts his head, “Didn’t you spend months training there? Were they rude to you?” Lucifer gasps at that. They all would probably  _ kill _ anyone who acts rudely to you now…

“No, no!” you quickly correct them, “It was all my fault…” Now all eyes are focused on you and they are  _ serious _ . Your stomach is already hurting. “Uh…in the beginning I was only training alone. I felt like the others were way more advanced than me and I shied away. Miss Agnes thought it was a good idea to make a ‘training camp’ in her house for a week and I agreed because I wanted to be more familiar with them. Fast forward to the first day training together and I made many mistakes because I was so nervous. Why am I like this? When I want to make a good impression, I end up being all clumsy…” 

“I-I am sure it wasn’t that bad,” Satan offers, trying to cheer you up, but it's too late, the self-depreciation is already strong in your head. Drinking a whole glass of water, you try not to feel too bad about it.

“After that disastrous first day, things got way worse…”

“They did?” Mammon asks immediately. His eyes widen.

“The first day was all about spells and I am bad at spells, but on the second day we did curses, and, I happen to be very competent in curses because Satan teaches me so much.” Satan lets out an “Eh?” sound and looks at his sides, seeing how his brothers are judging him. “We were supposed to curse a scarecrow to move and everyone’s scarecrows were just moving a bit and waving their fake hands. But my curse was too strong, I guess, and my scarecrow ended up jumping and running.”

“ _ Running?!” _ the twins gasp at the same time. 

“You made a whole damn scarecrow run around?” Asmo asks. His expression is both surprised and horrified.

“Yes! And I panicked! I couldn’t control it so I tried to make the scarecrow stop all at once but I accidently  _ destroyed _ it.”

“Wha—” Satan's mouth moves but no sound leaves him.

“Eh… That’s impressive, actually,” Levi comments. Both he and his brothers are so taken aback they are all silent for a minute. 

“Uh, the other apprentices didn’t like it? Didn’t they get like, really impressed too?” Mammon asks. You know he is just trying to sound nice but it sounds like he’s forcing himself to act positive too.

“ **No** !” you cry out, feeling very frustrated only to remember those misadventures. “They all stared at me like I was some sort of freak! I bet they thought I was acting like a clumsy mess the previous day on purpose. It also didn’t help that I made a perfect potion when the older apprentice who wants to be an alchemist couldn’t. I can’t help it; I learned how to properly mix a newt salamander’s tail with rotten bat wings in the Devildom…” A tear tries to break free from your eyes but you quickly clean it away. No use crying over all of this, it will only make you even more upset for acting like a brat in front of the demon brothers.

_ “None _ of them even tried to get to know me after that. I know the second they learned I studied in the Devildom they started thinking I was a snobby asshole who doesn’t need no help or friends.” You cross your arms over your chest, looking at the ground. It hurts to remember how you can’t make friends to save your life. “There was only this one girl whom I did some group studies with who was kind of nice to me, Alice. She’s polite and smart, but we never talked much aside from magic stuff at Ms. Agnes’s house and some text messages.”

You also had to profoundly apologize for the utter failure that her training camp was. But there’s no way you are telling this to the demon brothers. In the end, Ms. Agnes was very cool to not blame you for it. Though you know you are the only one to blame for your own complete failure. Thankfully, Ms. Agnes still allowed you to keep studying there despite the other apprentices’ distaste of your presence. At least your professor never thought of you as an annoyance. 

“So, that’s why you never talked much about the magic lessons, right?” Asmo wonders, being very careful with his words.

“I’m  _ so sorry _ , Tsuki, I shouldn’t have asked…!”

“It’s okay, Satan, you didn’t know,” you sigh, trying to calm down. “It’s fine really, I never went here to make friends anyway…”

“Is that so?”

He is tilting his head, concerned, but you look away from the avatar of wrath. He must be feeling responsible for making you feel like trash. You end up meeting Lucifer’s eyes, he looks calm and composed again but his eyes betray him. You can see concern in his dark red eyes, and his previous disapproval about your magic lessons has disappeared.

“I see,” Lucifer finally speaks again after a long moment of silence. “And yet you still went to keep studying?” you nod. 

“I just wanted to make sure I can hold on my own so you guys don’t have to worry so much,” you admit, picking on your lips. “And also, since I couldn’t fit in well with the normal humans I tried to with the witches. Aside from some of the apprentices, the other magicians I met were kinda cool.”

“Your dedication is worthy of praise. Never mind the others, you are fine just doing what you need to,” the prideful reminds you, all mighty and serious. This has to be the nicest thing he has ever said about your magic training. Seems like he can appreciate how hard you are taking it and is going to support you now.

“Thanks, Luci.”

He nods and changes the subject, thank Hell. You really didn’t wish to keep talking about it.

The time passes just as expected. The demon brothers all gather in the common room to play games with you. It makes you feel like nothing has changed since the last time you were here. They are all a mess, like usual, but it is fun and makes you happy.

When you try to excuse yourself to go sleep, Lucifer asks you to go to his room instead. With a feeling you know why, you can’t refuse.

As soon as the door closes, his hands are on you and his lips on yours. Getting lost in Lucifer’s touch, you relax in his arms and the demon carries you to his bed. He sits down, putting you on his lap, and resumes his kissing. You giggle as Lucifer leaves a series of hungry butterfly kisses on your neck. One of his hands rubs circles on your back and the others moves down, until it caresses and grip your ass.

“I missed you,” he says as he pulls away to breathe. 

“Me too.” You give a kiss to the top of his head. Your arms rest over his shoulders while Lucifer keeps his face on the curve of your neck. “I missed you so much… I wanted to have you by my side to comfort me so many times…”

“And yet, you never summoned any of us.”

“I-I never wanted to bother you…”

“Nonsense, you are never a bother, to any of us.” And he gives you even more kisses. His hands tighten on your body for a moment before starting to pull down your shorts. The action provokes a small moan from you and your face gets redder. “It's been months since the last time we shared a bed.” 

“True.” Your stomach flips, filled with anticipation. Getting closer, you rub your body on Lucifer’s. At first you really weren’t thinking about it, but this horny old man seems to always make you feel in the mood for some sex times. He keeps on playing with the fabric of your shorts, teasing to take it down.

“What do you want to do today?” he asks, voice low. You can feel him smiling on your skin.

“Hmm… I don’t want to do anything too exhaustive. Just some touching.”

“Whatever you want, love.”

Saying this, he flips you in the bed. Now you are lying on your back with the demon hovering above you, smirking. 

“I missed my kitty so much. You are going to stay the whole night here with me, right?”

“Such a shame, I have already cleaned the dust off my room.”

He brings his knee to rub at the middle of your legs. Moaning, you start feeling even more excited.

“Kidding. Of course, I will,” you smirk back. “Wouldn’t want it any other way.” Pulling him closer, you kiss his lips. There’s no hurry tonight, you just want to feel his naked body pressed against yours.


	2. Getaway Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have absolute no idea of how long this will be. I just know, it will be long.
> 
> Title: Getaway Green by All Time Low  
> “I know I'm not supposed to color in the lines when it comes to you. Undefined and out of mind 'til you get lost and lonely too. I guess I get the message, we don't have to stress this anymore. If it happens, then it happens, happy to have you at all.”
> 
> Alt title: The Legendary Auntie Appears

**Chapter 2 – Getaway Green**

The brothers are so excited over breakfast it is breaking your heart. This quick visit feels way too short. Levi complains he can’t play any of his new games with you. Asmo and Satan also want to show you some new stuff they got. The others aren’t different. Since you have no clothes here aside from those short ones you were using in the human world before being kidnaped by the wizard, Asmo lends you one of his RAD coats. 

On the way to the student council, you don’t even want to let Mephisto know since the brothers take all your time and he would probably only cry again. This sucks, he’ll be so angry and calling you names all over chat later, when you tell him about what happened.

Upon entering the huge council room, Lord Diavolo and Barbatos are already there, both smiling broadly.

“Oh, so everyone came here to say their goodbyes?” Lord Diavolo comments in a light tone. Some of the demon brothers are already squinting their eyes angrily at his smile. “Well, you don’t need to! Solomon brought me news from the angels and we can return the exchange program with the original humans and angel students right now!” he announces.

“W…what?”

Everyone is caught by surprise. You and the brothers turn to Lucifer but he looks stunned by the news as well. 

“I’m saying Tsuki doesn’t need to leave now! And that Solomon, Simeon, Luke and a new angel exchange student will be joining us very soon!”

There is more silence for a minute, before the brothers all explode in yells and commemorations. Suddenly, you are held from all sides. You fall to the ground with a pile of demons over you, making it difficult to breathe. 

“Lord Diavolo, when did this decision happen?!” you hear Lucifer question his Lord. 

“Last night, Master Lucifer,” Barbatos replies, “Solomon came to the Demon King’s Castle and we had a long conversation about it. We didn’t call you since we knew you were dying to spend some time with Tsuki.”

You can picture the smile Barbatos is wearing perfectly in your head. With a bit of trouble, you escape the mountain of limbs to breathe and speak. 

“Wait! I can’t just stay here for a year starting  _ right now! _ I have a rented apartment and I need to let my therapist know I won’t be able to keep with my sessions! I have many loose ends to take care of!”

“Hmm, that’s true,” Diavolo nods pensively. After a moment he smiles again. “Then, Lucifer can accompany you in the human world today so you can fix all your loose ends. Does that sound all right to you?”

“Uh… That does, actually.”

“Then, it's decided! Welcome back to the Devildom, Tsuki!”

The brothers cheer again and Barbatos tells you a nice welcome back as well. Lucifer's expression turns serious.

“All of you, off of Tsuki, right now.” Promptly, all the demons stand up. Beel helps you get back on your feet. “Attend your classes and wait patiently for our return. If I find out any of you made problems in my absence, Tsuki won’t be happy and can start giving punishments in my place,” he threatens, and all of them look horrified.

“We’ll be as composed as angels, Lucifer!” Mammon tells him, which weighs nothing.

“I’m sure you won’t make me angry, right?” you comment, looking all innocent like.

“NEVER,” Levi answers immediately and firmly. 

“Even if we need to tie Mammon so he won’t cause problems, we’ll make sure nothing happens,” Belphie promises, making Mammon yell. 

Laughing, you wave them goodbye as Lucifer opens a portal. 

  
  


Back at your apartment building, Lucifer leaves to talk to the owner. Which totally stresses you. What is he going to do? Buy the damn apartment for you?! Anyway, he just leaves to do mysterious things and you have no other choice but to make the suitcases.

You enter your home and use magic to put everything back in place. With your human phone in hand, you start by canceling everything: the streaming service, the internet, the phone bill, the academy. The taekwondo group chat gets a nice goodbye message. Then you start calling your therapist while getting the bags.Not seeing the need to take all of your clothes and personal belongings, you settle on the nicest and most comfortable clothes and underwear. Also the old RAD uniform. All the plushies and accessories are coming with you, however. You can never sort the accessories, so better to just grab everything that isn’t broken. Then all of your personal hygiene items. Why let them rot here, anyway?

The therapist finally picks up the call when you are done making your baggage. Sitting on the edge of your bed, you spend some time explaining your situation to her. She is very understanding and tells you to keep your therapy while in Japan ( _ ‘I guess I’ll die’ _ ). As soon as you end the call, Lucifer enters the apartment.

“Are you done?” He smiles and seems to be in good humor. Uh, what did he do?

“Almost, I don’t know what to do with all my food…”

“You could always make an offering for Beel.”

“I could… _ what _ ?”

“You know, sacrifice it or make an offering for a demon. It would take all of your food to the house,” he explains as if it’s common knowledge. 

Well, now that you think about it, you have heard some talks about witches making offerings to the demons while studying at Ms. Agnes house.

“Ah, I suppose we are so used to it we never thought of telling you,” Lucifer says suddenly. “I’ll teach you Beel’s offering magic circle so you can give him your food. Tell him if there’s anything he shouldn’t eat.”

Still a bit confused about how it works, you nod. With Lucifer’s help you draw a magic circle on the kitchen floor. Then you make some sort of prayer in demonic language. As soon as you’re done, you see a flash of white. Blinking to ease your eyes, you hear Lucifer opening the fridge and the cabinets. Seeing fine again, you look around. To your surprise, all the food you had stored just vanished.

“Don’t look so surprised, you know how humans have been making offerings and sacrifices to the demons since immemorial times,” Lucifer says with a smile. 

“Is that how you guys get money and fancy stuff?” Suddenly, you feel like many things make sense.

The demon laughs.

“See, you learn things fast. That’s precisely how, and powerful and famous demons such as myself and my brothers have always received various offerings and sacrifices. And, if you’re curious, I made a deal with the owner of this place. I’m going to make a ‘favor’ for him and in exchange, all of your stuff will be safe here for when you return,” Lucifer finishes with a wink.

While you want to ask what the favor is, you feel like he won’t tell you. On second thought, maybe you don’t want to know. Dazed from what just happened, you close the cabinets and turn off the fridge. Having packed everything you need, you two leave the apartment. 

Staying without your anxiety meds wouldn’t be ideal, so you ask Lucifer to make his magic again and buy a ton of boxes from a local pharmacy. He goes without a problem, and while you wait, against your better judgement, you dial mom’s number. Your parents should know about the second exchange program to ‘Japan’.

The call with mom is a complete train wreck. Either you catch her in a bad moment at work or the charm or whatever the demons have put on her has worn off. The second you spoke about having to travel today, the woman becomes furious.

“You’re leaving  _ today? _ Do you wait to tell us about this at the last possible moment, _ on purpose? _ You DO, don’t you, Tsuki?” She gives a scornful laugh. “What an ungrateful child, I bet you have been planning it since you moved!”

Her insults continue while you stay in silence out of concern for the pharmacy. You’re trembling slightly, without knowing how to cut her off. You can feel your stress levels rising again. It’s odd, how you have no issues telling actual demons, who can easily hurt you, to shut up, but not your mom. Only when talking about it with your therapist did she help you realize it’s some internalized trauma: the fear of upsetting them and being scolded and insulted, and lately, punished. She can’t do a thing to you in any way that matters, but you still feel helpless when she goes off like this.

When you notice Lucifer marching to you with  _ fire _ in his eyes, you legitimately  _ panic _ . Mom is just starting to say about how you don’t even need to come back home anymore, if you hate it so much. Oh well, she isn’t wrong there. They make sure to make you feel like you are not welcome there.

You try to end the call but the demon is faster and he takes the phone from your hands. Lucifer starts speaking to your mom and you can do nothing but cling to his arm and try to make him drop the phone. Why is he so stupidly tall?

“You don’t need to worry because they are  _ not _ coming back to your house  _ ever again,” _ he says, and your panic reaches the level of ordering him to give you back your phone by using the pact powers.

The demon grimaces, but hands the phone back against his will. Getting the phone, you decide that, if it’s to say goodbye, better say goodbye for good.

“You know what, mom? I don’t  _ want _ to live with you ever again! And I’m not ungrateful, you are just an  _ awful _ person to live with!” And with that you end the call.

In the next second your knees hit the ground, feeling like all your strength has left you. Lucifer gasps and helps you stand. You hold onto his arm, hands tightening against his muscles, and try not to cry. That was not what you had in mind…

There is a small bar close to the pharmacy, so Lucifer helps you walk there and you fall into a chair. Your skin feels cold and your head heavy. Ah, your blood pressure must have dropped a lot. The demon buys you some water and you wait for this  uneasiness to pass. Timidly opening an eye, you look at Lucifer. He has his arms crossed over his chest and is looking furiously to the side. Must be dying to trash talk your mom. You don’t blame him.

“I still need to call my father,” you say suddenly. Since you are already feeling bad, better call father too so you can prevent another panic attack. Is what you think. 

“Do you?” he retorts, scandalized. Then he shakes his head with a disapproving expression. “I can call him then.”

“No…” you deny immediately. “I’ll do it, father is a lot calmer than mom, I can handle it.”

Lucifer raises an eyebrow. He scoffs and says he’ll intervene if he starts insulting you too. Sighing, you agree.

As you expect, father is a lot calmer. It takes a while for him to pick up, making you feel unwell again. Luckily, father–at least–lets you explain what happened. He still lectures you for only telling him about the trip at the last second. It’s really not your fault…Lucifer doesn’t take your phone away since you are able to have a civil conversation with your father. The man is blunt and direct to the point, like you, so it’s a far shorter call.

With your parents off the list, you write a few texts to your old friends and the family group. Different from your parents, they give you nice and warm messages and good wishes for your travel and internship. Now, you should give back Ms. Agnes' portal key.

Only when you assure Lucifer that you are well does he let you stand and leave the bar. You and he walk to a deserted alley to use the portal key. Standing right in front of Ms. Agnes' house, you knock on it.

A middle-aged woman with wild and bright red hair answers the door, looking sleepy. She fixes her big round glasses and smiles when recognizing you.

“Tsuki! What are you doing here on a non-training day? And you…?”

Taking a breath, you calmly explain to her that you are here to give back her key and that you are going back to the Devildom. Briefly, you introduce Lucifer to her, however, she points out she recognizes the demon. She’s delighted to hear it and wants to invite you in. Lucifer refuses.

“That’s wonderful news!” she smiles and laughs happily. “You kept talking about wanting to go back, right? Congratulations! You are very talented, Tsuki, please keep studying hard! And don’t hesitate to ask for help or visit when you can.”

“Thank you, really,” you sheepishly say, very politely. “I’m sorry if I caused any problems… They were never on purpose. And, I am really grateful for everything. For your patience and teaching, especially. I hope you stay well, Ms. Agnes.”

“Haha, no problems,” she waves a hand, still smiling. “I  _ certainly _ had apprentices that caused me a lot more trouble than you. And it’s fine to do things wrong once in a while, it’s part of the learning process,” she winks. Then, her eyes meet Lucifer’s. “Are you sure you don’t want to enter? It’s not everyday I have a demon as powerful as  _ Lucifer _ at my front door! There are cookies, tea and…”

“Sadly, we don’t have the time,” the demon dismisses her again. 

“Ah, that sucks.” Losing her normally happy expression, she frowns sadly. “I was totally going to try to get a pact with you.”

“Confident you are going to succeed?” he smirks.

“Time to go!” you announce, forcing a smile, afraid of Lucifer turning sour and rude on your professor. You basically drag him by the arm while waving goodbye to Ms. Agnes. The woman is so patient and chill, probably not even Lucifer could make her mad. Still, better go before something bad happens. After one more streak of thanks and apologies, you walk down the street, leaving the witch’s house behind.

“I take it you are done now?” Lucifer asks with a smile, a minute later.

“ _ Dying to go back to work _ , aren’t you?!” 

The angry words leave your mouth before you can think twice. They sound hastier than what you intended too. But, honestly, it’s the second or the third time he’s asked if you are done already! He didn’t even want to enter Ms. Agnes' house! Why the hurry? It is starting to stress you. Just like the last time, you have to adapt to a big change as quickly as possible after suddenly becoming an exchange student in the Devildom. And you still have to hear people complain you didn’t let them know of anything beforehand. Well, you were caught by surprise too! Not your fault!

Your words seem to stun Lucifer. He loses his smile and stares at you without a reaction for a moment. Blinking rapidly, his eyes and his shoulders suddenly drop.

“Why would you think that?” He has a low and careful tone, facing the ground under his feet. “I was just hoping we could finish your business here soon so we could have some alone time. Maybe a little date…”

_ “Date?!” _ It’s been less than twenty-four hours since you have been with the demon again and you are already misunderstanding him and getting ahead of yourself. Like always. Wonderful. This day just keeps hitting you harder and harder.

“I suppose my intentions weren’t clear,” Lucifer murmurs to himself.

“Wait, I’m sorr—”

“Don’t apologize, it was my fault. I forgot how you tend to always expect the worst-case scenario. I should have made my wish clear from the beginning.”

“But I—”

“It’s fine, Tsuki,” he ends the conversation on a serious note. He sighs, scratching the back of his head. “So, is there anything else you want to do now?”

“I—There’s a place I want to visit… Someone, to be honest. Sorry, it’s not going to be a date,” you look down, embarrassed. 

“Since you are going to spend a while away from here, you should visit whomever you want now.”

You nod, still feeling down for before. Shouldn’t have talked that way with him… And now you feel bad about not going on a date like he wants to… Still, you let Lucifer know where to go now so he can open another portal. You just  _ have _ to visit her before leaving.

After clicking the knocker a few times, the woman finally answers the door.

“Coming, coming!” she complains, unlocking the front door. “What did you forget—Tsuki!” Then she opens a big grin. “What a pleasant surprise! Tell me, what are you doing here today? Come to pay us a surprise visit? OH, and  _ who _ is this handsome gentleman?” 

“Something like that, auntie,” you laugh nervously. “This is Lucian Morningstar, my friend, he is the host of the house I stayed in during my exchange to Japan. Lucian, this is my aunt, Cristine.”

Auntie laughs excitedly and introduces herself to “Lucian”. Then, she invites you two in. As you walk into the familiar house, you start explaining about the new program. As expected, she’s very surprised too. Leading you to the kitchen, auntie tells you and your friend to sit while she makes some coffee.

“You  _ just _ missed your cousins and Fred!” she says while walking from one side to the other of the kitchen, working. “Louis wanted to make his favorite coconut cake but we ran out of coconut milk, so they all left to buy a few ingredients. Gisele wanted to have ice cream, so she went with them too. They legit just left the house! I even thought it was them. Like, maybe Gisele forgot her phone or Fred, his wallet. Wouldn’t be the first time…” she keeps on talking about your family for a while. 

You are lucky today’s a holiday, so everyone is at home. You’d need to meet aunt at her workplace if it were a normal week day. Whispering, you explain to Lucifer that Fred is your uncle, a tall man who looks like a failed rock star who married your aunt and works at a real estate agency. Louis is your oldest cousin, four years younger than you. After a few failed college courses, he finally settled for cooking classes, and wants to open a small restaurant. He has an even lower self-esteem than you and believes the only good thing he can do is cooking. Gisele is Louis's younger sister. Just like her mother, she’s a dancer. Girl has been a ballerina since she was three and can’t see another life path that isn’t dancing at a big theater. Unless she takes over her mother’s dance academy when she retires. Gisele is only two years younger than Louis.

When coming to the table, auntie serves some cookies and jelly. “Sorry, I don’t have much to offer to the guests!”

“Don’t worry, just a fine cup of coffee is enough for me,” Lucifer tells her, being overly polite now.

“Oh, do you live off caffeine like Tsuki too?”

“Indeed, we are both addicted to it,” he chuckles. “I must say, I’m glad to finally meet the famous ‘Auntie’, the woman who taught them how to dance so well.”

“Oh, my,” she blushes. Smiling, auntie joins the table. “Thank you but the teacher can do only so much. It’s mostly on the dancer.”

“Auntie…” you murmur, feeling your cheeks get hotter. She laughs at your timid reaction.

The woman insists for you two to eat, so you pick some cookies and add a generous quantity of blackberry jelly. While you eat, Lucifer and auntie start talking about dancing. Seeing how you brought him to meet the  _ only _ family you ever speak well of, Lucifer is being very polite. You have to stop their exciting conversation about dance to finish explaining how you are moving back to ‘Japan.’ Auntie takes it well; she becomes serious and nods a lot while letting you speak. All while Lucifer stays quiet, looking a bit too intensely at auntie.

“So, you are Tsuki’s mother’s sister?” the demon asks once you have finished telling her everything.

“Yes. You have met Elaine before, right?”

“ _ Unfortunately _ .” He clicks his tongue and groans in displeasure. “The only things you have in common with that woman are your nose, skin complexion and how much you talk.” Then his serious eyes move to stare at you. “But that must run in the family blood.”

“Luci!” you exclaim, but auntie just explodes in laughter besides you.

“I admit me and my older sister are very different.” She cleans a tear from her eyes, still giggling. “We never were  _ that _ close. And I left the house as soon as I was eighteen, to study and work. My sister stayed living with our mom until she got married. She and mom have a lot of traits in common.”

Lucifer hums. Auntie suddenly stands up to get the coffee. Once she pours it, the table becomes quiet for a while. You just wanted to see her before leaving for the Devildom again since she’s the closest relative you have, and thank her for everything.

Lucifer’s phone rings and he excuses himself to accept the call. Must be Lord Diavolo, wondering why you two are taking so long. Or Mammon. Auntie stares at Lucifer moving away in silence.

“Say Tsuki,” she taps on your arm to get your attention, “is your friend…?”

“My boyfriend,” you burst out in the same second. Ah, auntie is too smart, she must know. “Please don’t tell my parents.”

“ _ What? _ Your  _ boyfriend? _ ” auntie repeats, dumbfounded. She looks so taken aback that you know this is not what she was going to say. Great job, you are outing yourself  _ again _ . “You two are  _ dating _ ? But isn’t he a d—”

“A what?”

Lucifer is back. With his arms crossed, he stares down at auntie. The woman hesitates, eyes never leaving the man. She fidgets with her hands for a moment. It’s not common to see her so anxious like this.

“You are a demon, aren’t you?” Lucifer raises his eyebrows slightly, not all that surprised. Meanwhile, you are stuttering. How does she know that?! Is auntie a  _ witch? _ She can’t be! You would have noticed. Auntie notices how agitated you are and smiles. “Calm down, I am not a witch.” Saying so, she pulls a part of her shirt away, showing part of her chest. A magic circle you’d seen a few times before is tattooed on her skin. “I have this magic circle to protect me from demons, and it always lets me know when a demon is nearby. It hasn’t stopped itching ever since you entered here.”

“I see,” Lucifer sits back on his chair, completely calm. “I noticed the other protection amulets too, but those things will only stop lower level demons from approaching the house. Higher level demons aren’t affected.”

Auntie lets out a knowing sigh and nods. 

“Tsuki, do you remember your uncle John? He died when you were seven,” she speaks, now looking at you again. You need to take a moment to remember him.

“Mom’s older brother?” Auntie nods. She assumes a serious expression now.

“My older brother–John–was a sorcerer.” Both you and Lucifer gasp at that. “Remember when I said I left the house when I was eighteen? I went to live with John, who lived close to a college I wanted to attempt. While living with him, I found out he was a sorcerer. He got so excited to share his secret with someone from the family, but sadly I didn’t have any talent for magic,” she laughs regretfully. After a pause, she continues. “Turns out a childhood friend of John was from a family of sorcerers and witches and John went to work for them when he came of age. He told me that, normally, magical abilities are passed by blood so we did research on the family tree in hopes of looking for another sorcerer or witch, but it was a waste of time,” she sighs.

“Our biggest problem is that my father was left in an orphanage when he was a baby and successfully lost all of his original documents over time. We also faced two problems: the orphanage closed many years before we did this research and at the time, father was sick and neither mom nor my sister wanted us to dwell on his past, so we reluctantly had to stop.” She halts again with a sorrowful expression. “Brother kept telling me it was fine, but I knew he wished to know more about his story as well. He gave me all those protection spells and circles to keep me safe, afraid I knew too much about magic and demons. I promised him I could take a look at the next generation of our family for him, when he started getting sick, but I guess I failed,” she ends in a sad laugh.

“Aw, it’s not your fault, auntie! I didn’t know either until recently,” you try to cheer her up.

“Some humans have ‘dormant’ magical abilities, many live and die without ever knowing. It normally takes some magic event to activate them. That is what happened to Tsuki,” Lucifer explains. “They are even very powerful. Makes more sense to know they  _ have _ magical blood coming from another member of their family.” The demon pauses, seeming to weigh his next words carefully. “May I ask if your brother was exceptional?”

Auntie goes pensive for a moment. 

“I don’t think so. Actually, he used to say he was ‘mostly human’ every time we talked about his powers. He spent his whole life working for a wealthy family of magicians in another city, as a librarian. His true passion was research and learning.”

“I see, thanks for telling us.”

You meet eyes with auntie again. Honestly, this is too much to digest. So, you have a sorcerer in your family? And no one but auntie knows? A whole branch of the family is just  _ missing? _ Does the slightly suspicious Prince of Hell know about it? 

You always find it so strange how you went from ordinary human to talented magic apprentice so fast. Even with the ancient angel blood, you never felt like it was enough to justify all this ‘talent’ you got overnight. Suddenly, you feel like things make more sense. From what you remember of uncle John, he was a bit older than mom, a very amicable man who liked to read and was always working. He used to joke a lot about it, about how he was ‘married to his work’. Sometimes, you heard the grown ups call him ‘eccentric’ for some unknown reason; he just always seemed like a cool guy to you. He never got married or had children, and died from a chronic illness when you were seven.

Resting your head on your hands, you stare fixedly at the empty cup of coffee over the table, brain still trying to comprehend all of this new information.

“I wanted to ask you about it when I saw your tattoos, Tsuki…” Auntie's voice snaps you from your daydreams. “Those are demon marks, but I didn’t know how to ask you about it. And I thought that you would eventually open up to me,” she comments, eyes wandering around the room. 

“Ah, they are demon pact marks, actually…” you confess, much to her surprise. Reluctantly, you start confessing about how the exchange program is actually set in the Devildom. You can see how her expression keeps getting more and more mortified the more you speak. Eventually Lucifer steps in and keeps explaining how things happened down there.

“So…you’re Lucifer.  _ The _ Lucifer?” she inserts after a long moment of shock. The demon nods. “And my Tsuki is dating The Lucifer?” She looks at you and you can only nod, deeply regretting every action that brought you to this situation. “I see… Tsuki has some great taste in men.”

“AUNTIE!” The demon laughs. From all things she could possibly have said…she picked  _ that _ ?!

“What? The Devil looks gorgeous,” she chuckles. You hide your face in your hands, feeling your face getting hotter and hotter. “Being serious now,” her tone of voice changes, “can I trust you to protect Tsuki down there?”

“I’ll protect Tsuki with my life,” Lucifer replies without hesitation.

“You better,” she says seriously. You take your hands off your face to look at them. Both Lucifer and auntie Cristy are earnest while staring at each other. 

“By the way, Cristine, if you want to, I can check your lacking family history for you.”

Auntie blinks.

“Can you?”

“Well, we demons live long,” Lucifer smiles. “It should be easy for me to find out about your father’s missing family. I will only ask about his name and the orphanage’s name and location.”

“In that case, I’ll politely accept your offer.” She doesn’t waste a minute to think about it. “I know how John always wanted to know about father’s family. I feel like knowing about it would ease my mind and would be one last favor for everything he has done for me. Thank you, Lucifer.”

Immediately, auntie Cristy stands up and leaves to get the info Lucifer needs. She looks pretty excited about it. You know those demons can find immemorial things. It probably won’t take Lucifer a day to dig out all of your grandfather's family tree.

You two stay in silence for a moment. You still feel like your brain is about to explode. Peeking at Lucifer, you see the demon has a very solemn expression on his face while he faces a distant place in the room. What could he possibly be thinking about? You have a guess. It’s a long shot too.

“Hey, Lucifer,” you whisper, “do you think Lord Dia—”

“Knows about this part of your family?” he hastily cuts you off in that ‘I am barely containing my anger’ tone. It almost scares you. “ _ Tch _ .” He clicks his tongue just like when he was angry at your mom. “I don’t know, but I  _ am _ finding out, leave it to me.”

_ Wow _ . While you were wondering about it too, you didn’t really expect it to be bothering Lucifer. Seems like you were wrong again. Auntie comes back with a piece of paper with the relevant info and hands it to Lucifer. The demon guards it in one of his pockets. Time to go. You walk to give your goodbyes to auntie. As usual, she’s as supportive as always. She gives you many words of encouragement and tells you to call if you need anything. Even if it’s just to talk to her. She’s so wonderful, why couldn’t  _ she _ be your mother instead? Lucifer has a point; those sisters are very different.

But as you are about to leave, uncle Fred and your cousins return from their grocery shopping. They don’t let you leave for another hour, much to Lucifer’s annoyance. 


	3. Oh My Dear Lord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh My Dear Lord by The Unlikely Candidates  
> “My future used to shine as bright as a diamond. Where did time go? I was so high, it was frightening. I know I messed up, but there's no use in crying (no use in crying). Oh my dear lord.”
> 
> This is one of my favorite chapters!!!

**Chapter 3 – Oh My Dear Lord**

Barely stepping back into RAD, you are attacked by a random Mephistopheles. The demon hugs you, then pushes you away, complains about you not having informed him of the news, scolds you, then cries.

“Damn! I can’t stay mad at you!” he angrily yells before hugging you tightly again.

Mephisto keeps on crying on your shoulder while hugging you. There’s nothing left to do other than let the demon vent his feelings out. He keeps on talking about how much he missed you. You missed him too, greatly, but his extreme reaction has left you stunned.

Lucifer keeps on staring at the scene before him with a weird expression. Ah, poor Lucifer. The avatar of pride followed you the whole day, had to make a deal with your landlord, wanted to kill your mother over a phone call, met your magic teacher and still had to deal with your family for about two hours. And on top of everything, he has to watch another demon hug and cry all over you. He couldn’t catch a break today and you two didn’t have time for a date. You are feeling really bad for him now.

“I swear I don’t have an affair,” you jokily say when your eyes meet again. It does make him chuckle for a second.

He doesn’t really mind it, and when Mephisto calms down you are able to keep on with your day.

  
  


The next day, you have to go to the council room again. Diavolo and Barbatos explain your new situation. The new semester starts in only a few days and you are invited to accompany Solomon to visit the angels in the Celestial Realm tomorrow. Solomon needs to deliver a document to Simeon and it sounds like the communication between the Devildom and the Celestial Realm is kind of difficult. Though the invitation stuns you for a moment, you accept it. Much to the demon brothers’ displeasure. They yell and start to say a lot of bullshit, but that’s kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity. You have pacts with seven demons, pretty sure your soul is fucked up and belongs in Hell now, so you probably won’t have another opportunity to see what the Celestial Realm is like again. The demons can complain as much as they like, it won’t change anything. 

Diavolo also comments about some sort of culture festival coming soon. Apparently, some shit went down at the last one and they spent a few years without doing the event. He seems to want your input and help and you are already dreading it. No, you are a terrible person to handle this sort of thing.

Since you have nothing to do while the demon brothers study, you kill time in the library. Later, you go to the RAD cafeteria. Mephisto skips one of his classes to keep you company. During the lunch break Asmo appears to ask if you want to meet the demons who were sent to the human world. You actually do. Hopefully they aren’t such jerks and don’t flat out hate humans like ninety percent of RAD. Asmo cheerfully guides you to their table while Mephisto drags his feet behind you. Why does he look so gloomy all of a sudden? Did he have disagreements with them before?

Stopping by a table with only two demons, Asmo introduces them. Diaval is a tall demon with long and straight red hair. His long and pointed ears are covered by piercings. He has a dark skin color and he reminds you a lot of Diavolo; he’s like a skinny Diavolo with as many piercings as possible. The other difference between him and Diavolo is the eyes: Diaval’s eyes are dark and grey, very different from Diavolo’s yellow eyes. His RAD uniform is all wrinkled and all the bottoms of his coat are undone. He’s so sloppy it rivals Mammon’s sloppiness. Asmo says Diaval is a decent student and also a member of the student council. That uniform must make Lucifer want to scold him.

The other demon is called Belial, Asmo introduces them as his party buddy. They have short and neon green hair, both wavy and fluffy. They are chubby, and have freckles over their cheeks and nose. Their uniform is tidier, but instead of a tie they have a black and pink scarf with something written on it. “Ask me about” something. It’s a bit embarrassing how you spent a year in the Devildom and still can’t read their demonic language well half of the time. Belial has _even more piercings_ : three on their ears, one on their right eyebrow and one on their nose, on the septum. You can’t tell what color her eyes are behind their pink glasses. Ever since Asmo introduced you, this demon hasn’t stopped looking at you from head to toes.

“So, Belial, what should we call you today?” Asmo politely asks, after introducing you to them.

“She,” Belial responds, uninterested. When she speaks, you notice she also has a piercing in the middle of her tongue. Then she glares at you from top to bottom. Something tells you she’s someone who actively looks for trouble. Or fights.

You try to read her scarf again and only now you think it may be “Ask me about my pronouns”.

“Hi. So, are you gender fluid or something like that? I’m non-binary myself.”

Her eyes widen and the demon suddenly stands up.

“ _OH!_ Err know ‘bout it!” Belial has a really strong accent, though you can’t tell where it’s supposed to be from. “Thanks, Diavolo! I don’t need to go on ‘xplaining it for once!” She cracks up a big grin. “As gender fluid I am constantly changing how I want to be called. Which is a bit unusual for demons.”

“When she says ‘constantly’ she means it,” Mephisto whispers behind you. Is it just you or is he hiding?

“Oh, it’s Faust.”

“Nice to meet you,” Diaval raises his hand to you before you can ask who Faust is. After a second of hesitation you shake his hands. He smiles. This may be the least threatening looking demon you have met so far. Dude has a very calm aura around him. “We heard a lot about you. And yes, Diavolo is my cousin, people tend to say we look alike a lot.” Oh, so they are family. The demon chuckles softly before elaborating. “My mom is his mom's older sister. It doesn’t look like it, but I am actually older.” You nod, though all demons you met so far have a young appearance. 

As soon as the demon finishes talking, Belial takes Diaval out of the way to get closer to you. She’s so much shorter than him.

“I herr yor quite a fighter! ‘S true yu fought demons and told them to go _eat shit_ befor?” God, her accent is _thick_. You nod but before you can explain the details, she keeps on talking. “HA! Me like s’one with spine! Back in da human word I go around pissin’ off humans in purpoze!”

“And you still didn’t lose this awful accent,” Mephisto calls her out, _bravely_ pointing at her while mostly behind you. If he were a bit taller, it would look hilarious. Belial goes serious all at once and squints her eyes angrily. “Cut it out already! It’s hard to make sense of you sometimes. Like, more than normal.”

“ _Ich spreche so, wie ich spreche möchte, Faust!_ ”

(Translation: “I speak the way I want to, Faust!”)

You blink, confused. Is she speaking _German_ now?! Mephisto groans and Diaval and Asmo have to come and stand between them.

“Haha, you see, Mephs and Beli are childhood friends,” Diaval explains, “Don’t they act just like _brothers_?”

Mephisto chokes on air while Belial makes vomiting sounds. Ah, yes, brothers, just like the demon brothers. Makes sense.

“Anyway, you look confused so I’ll explain a few things,” Diaval says, and tells the demons to stop fooling around. For some reason, they stop. “We went to study at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Myself as a student from South Africa and Belial was supposed to be from Germany but…”

“Didja know ze British hates ze Scottish?” she starts laughing before she can even finish her line. “Me has found out and I created some wondrusous story about me being descent of ze Scottish and talking like the Scottish to piss off the English mans.”

It’s honestly hard to keep up with what Belial says, her Scottish and German accents seem to have merged at some point and she speaks way too fast for it to be easy to understand. So, you only nod in silence.

“She only speaks like this on purpose because she knows I dislike it,” Mephisto complains, crossing his arms. “She lives to _spite me_.” Asmo laughs while Mephisto scoffs.

“I think she’s charming.”

“Pretty sure she invented a word just now too.” 

Oh, you thought it was just you.

“Anyway, we had a good time back in the human world,” Diaval kept on talking as if nothing was happening. “Lucifer invited me to go since I am very calm and patient. To demon standards, at least. And I don’t particularly dislike humans, different from many high-level demons. Belial was Diavolo’s pick.”

“Excuse me, _what?”_ you are asking before you can think twice.

Belial speaks in German again and Mephisto yells to her to speak in a language you can understand.

“Grr, fine! I am a very talented shapeshifter.” _She can actually speak like a normal person, thank Mephistopheles!_ “Dia thought it would help me ‘blend in’ better with the humans but he couldn’t be more wrong!” 

“Damn right. I had to stop her from murdering humans almost every single day for months,” Diaval sighs tiredly. “Some days, more than just once.”

“I mean, yes, every demon can shapeshift, and all that, but it comes a lot easier for me. I am fluid like water! Not being able to freely and radically change my appearance when I wanted to was near torture!” she complains dramatically. “But it was fun too. I like humans now. They are hilarious. And Faust really likes you, he legit never shut up about you, so I have high expectations. Faust is the loner type and hardly socializes, so it was refreshing to hear him talk so much about someone!”

“I’m sorry, but who is Faust?”

“Me. She means me,” Mephisto says, looking down. “It’s my, uh, the name I normally use when I go to the human world.” You don’t get why he looks bothered by it, but it’s nice to know he talks so much about you. You also talked about him as much as the demon brothers back in the human world.

“Don’t be shy, Faust~ It’s a pretty name to deceive the humans~”

“You. _Stop it,”_ he actually growls at Belial. She gasps, offended, for about a second, then goes straight for him. You can tell Mephisto is not going to hold back on a fight too, which is honestly baffling, since he dislikes violence so much. But Diaval and Asmo act quickly and get between them again, stopping the fight before it can happen.

“Uh, so!” Asmo yells, suddenly, getting all the attention. “Now that you are familiar with Tsuki, you can talk to them later! Tsuki and I should get going.” The avatar of lust gets your arm and drags you along. You can only wave to the demons while being taken away. Both Belial and Diaval wave happily at you. Mephisto frowns as if he was abandoned. You really didn’t want to just leave them behind, you need to scold Asmo later.

Diaval looks like a chill and cool demon. But Belial… She scares you a little. It seems like she’s as volatile as the demon brothers. A cause of concern. Typical of Diavolo to send such a demon to the human world. 

  
  


Knocking on the door, you wait. The voice coming from inside tells you to enter. No matter how long you two date, you are not going to break into Lucifer's study or his room without his previous knowledge or permission. He takes his work seriously.

The demon is sitting on his big fancy chair and working, as usual, even this late at night. Walking in, you close the door, then show the bottle and glasses in your hands.

“Brought you something!” Carefully, you put the stuff over a clean corner on his desk. “I want to apologize for making you keep up with me yesterday. You had to follow me around and stand my family. And when we got back, your brothers and Mephisto didn’t let go of me. And then you ended up working all night long. Sorry,” you say your apologies while facing the ground. “I feel bad for not being able to go on a date like you wanted.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Lucifer sighs and stops working, “I never felt like I was 'keeping up' with you, and I honestly don’t mind helping you. And it wasn’t all that bad, part of your family is pleasant,” he smiles.

“Thank you, I like them too.” Putting his work aside, the demon gets the bottle to take a better look.

“Hmm, where did you get it?”

“I went out with Asmo today and he helped me pick it! I actually said it is a ‘thank you' gift for yesterday… Is it to your liking?”

“Yes, I like this brand. Thank you.” Smiling, he gets up. “I should take a break anyway, let’s drink.”

Following Lucifer, you sit on the sofa of his room. The demon pours the champagne for both of you. You two cheer. The beverage tastes sweet. It’s very alcoholic too.

“Don’t be too sad about the date thing,” Lucifer comments. Then he starts praising the drink. “I knew it was wishful thinking. But now that you’re back for another year, we’ll have plenty of time to go on many dates.” His smile widens and a blush colors his cheeks. “I’m really happy you are back here, Tsuki.”

“I am too.”

After pouring more of the beverage, Lucifer joins you on the sofa. So close to the demon, he tugs you by your shirt so you can get nearer. Staring into his deep crimson eyes, you move until you sit right next to him, your thighs touching. Lucifer passes an arm around your back and pulls you even closer. Your hold the glass of champagne tightens so it won’t fall. Only when you are sitting over his lap, his legs between yours, does he kiss you. His break is a bit longer tonight.

As usual, you underestimated the brothers’ clinginess. Can’t even have breakfast in peace without them freaking out about your visit to the Celestial Realm. Honestly, it’s just for a few hours, you are not going to be there forever! What are they even worried about? Were they bad angels? Is Simeon the exception and everyone just flat out _hates_ them? And they don’t want you hearing angels tell shit about them? 

Staying quiet, you only roll your eyes to each comment. Your attention is only caught when they start fighting over who is going to go with you.

“Wait, wait, _what_.” Stopping eating all at once, you look at the demons. “I thought you guys are banished from going back there?!”

“ _We are,”_ Lucifer’s voice sounds as loud as thunder and harsher than normal as he enters the dining room. The demon must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed, because he has a scary expression on his face. “Have you all forgotten how if we try to go back to the Celestial Realm we will burn to ashes and be stripped from existence?”

_Silence_. 

“Technically, I was only born after the Fall, so I could go up there with no consequences?” Satan comments, thinking out loud. 

“Have you forgotten you were part of me before?” Lucifer raises an eyebrow. “If you want so much to risk stopping existing, be my guest.”

Satan says silent for a moment. His smile falters, and he looks away, pensive.

“Maybe not…”

“Anyway.” You raise your hand, getting the demons’ attention. “Why are you guys so _pressed_ about me going to the Celestial Realm? I just want to see what it’s like! It’s just a trip! Do you think I would ask around about how you guys were as angels when I could just ask about any—”

“YES,” they all reply in unison.

It honestly baffles you. The Celestial Realm must be very different and you probably won’t go up there when you die, as your body is covered in demon pact marks. There should be many things to explore in the Celestial Realm, why would you waste your time asking about the brothers as angels? Rolling your eyes, you give up on trying to reassure them and try to focus again on eating your food. Unfortunately, they all hate being ignored.

“Oi human, don’t ignore us,” Mammon calls your attention. You simply stare at him with an annoyed expression. “We know you are dying to go up there and ask a lot of shit about us.”

_Maybe it’s because no one tells you a thing about up there!_

“We can just fill you in on whatever you want to know,” Beel says. His plate is empty and he’s staring at his twin’s half full plate.

“And don’t listen to a word of what Michael says, he’s full of shit,” Lucifer warns. This almost makes you choke; the avatar of pride doesn’t normally swear. 

“Tsuki! You don’t need to go around asking about us as angels!” Asmo interjects now. “I can simply show you my albums! Well most of the photos are of me, but I’m sure I have everyone else as well…”

Ok, now you choke on your juice. 

“ _Albums?”_ you cough. “What do you mean ALBUMS?!”

“Of course, it’s not modern photos, silly! I have an extensive collection of painted portraits from the time we were angels. Painting was my good friend's most beloved hobby. And I liked being a model,” Asmo explains proudly.

“I—But you— _How_ do you _HAVE_ them?” It makes no sense in your head. When did he have time to swipe a photo album in the middle of a war? “Did your disgusted father and the angels throw out all of your stuff into the Devildom as well after the Fall?”

There’s another awkward moment of silence where the demons only stare at you.

“AM I RIGHT?!”

“Hey guys, what’s all this yelling about?” You turn around in your chair with a jump, almost falling off it. Solomon is all smiles walking into the dining room, and Barbatos is right behind him. “Hope you didn’t mind but I brought Barbatos along to open the portal here.”

“How the fuck did you two get in here?!” you exclaim, exasperated. “I break a window and the security system goes wild, but when two people legitimately invade the house it does nothing?!” You turn to angrily gesture to Lucifer, who only gives you a stern look.

“That’s right!” Mammon agrees. “Just like that one time when that cat hid here and made a mess in my room! Honestly, our security system is a joke, Lucifer.”

The oldest demon rolls his eyes.

“Then, contact the security company and ask them about the details, I am very busy today,” Lucifer dismisses his brother. For a second Mammon is offended, but then he agrees to call the company.

You finish your drink before moving to follow Solomon. During the whole walk to the garden, the demons keep trying to tell you how to act and speak in the Celestial Realm. Since it’s a special trip, you decided to use your most normal looking clothes: a simple pair of dark blue leggings, a bottom-up flannel shirt, a light jacket matching the leggings, and sneakers. You’d taken off some piercings and decided to use glasses instead of contacts today. There must be a sun up there, right? These glasses are photosensitive. Also, Solomon has a pair of dark glasses today, so your guess must be right. The wizard also has an envelope in his right hand, which must be the document he has to deliver. 

Ignoring all the brothers’ overprotective talking, you step in the middle of the garden together with Solomon. You both smile and wave at them while Barbatos opens the portal. A door made of light appears before you and Solomon has to take your hand and guide you through it. You are pretty sure you heard some hysterical screams before entering the portal.

After the blinding light ends, you blink your eyes several times until you can see clearly.

“Wow,” you gasp.

This place is like…the opposite of the Devildom. Not only is there a clean sky and a bright sun, the light from the sun looks several times bigger than the sun in the human world. The grass is very green and there’s a white crystal path to a vast white castle. It’s so high it looks like it can reach the sky. Blinking again, you notice a giant rainbow that crosses the whole sky. Wow, is this like a special feature? Permanent rainbow?

The breathtaking view distracts you enough that only now you notice how you are on the top of a hill. Stepping closer to the hill, you see the white castle is surrounded by other shorter white buildings. Several people are walking from one side to the other. Some are flying. 

“Stunned, aren’t you?” Solomon chuckles behind you. “I was just like that the first time I came here.”

“You died?”

Solomon snorts, and it quickly becomes a full-on laugh. After a minute straight of laughing, he recomposes himself a little.

“No... Oh my.” Another laugh, and he cleans a tear off his left eye. “You say such amazing things, Tsuki. No, I didn’t _die_.” He straightens his back and coughs. “A few years ago, I found an injured angel in the human realm. After helping him, he took me on a trip to the Celestial Realm as thanks. I also met Michael.”

“Really?” Always with the secrets, this Solomon… “Also, that’s quite amazing, you found an angel… Hey, how is he? Michael?”

But your conversation is stopped by someone bellowing your name. From the other side of the hill Luke and Simeon come walking. Luke looks so excited; he’s running ahead and has a big smile on his face. He is also waving nonstop.

“Tsuki! Solomon! I am so happy to see you two again!” the small angel says.

“Hey there,” Simeon waves, also smiling.

“Luke! Simeon!” you yell back.

After hugging both and exchanging greetings, Solomon delivers the document that is in his hands to Simeon. The angels accept it happily. Then, the angels guide you and Solomon to their…city? Following the crystal path, there are vast flower fields on both sides. The flowers are multicolored and in different forms. Using your D.D.D., you snap a few photos. The boys laugh about how you are already taking photos. The closer you get to the white castles, the bigger they become. Simeon is explaining how most of their society resides between those walls. And, holy shit, no wonder Solomon is using sunglasses too, everything is so _bright_ here.

“As you can see, the Celestial Realm is the opposite of the Devildom!” Luke is speaking now. “It’s day time all time here. The sun never sets.”

“What? Really? I could never survive here,” you exclaim.

“Eh? You couldn’t?” Luke tilts his head, confused. 

“I am a creature of the night, I like doing my work at night,” you explain. “How do you even… Do you sleep?”

Simeon laughs.

“We do. Just like in the Devildom, don’t forget it’s always night down there.”

Oh. Truth.

Simeon now asks about the Devildom, much to Luke’s displeasure. He wanted to keep talking about the Celestial Realm. You tell him about how Solomon dragged your ass back to Hell and convinced Diavolo to start the exchange program again. Simeon laughs a lot while you speak.

“By the way, Simeon, can I meet Jesus?”

“W-what?” the angel's eyes widened with shock.

“Oh, you know, the Lord and Savior, Jesus Crist? Isn’t he here? I want to meet him and ask a few things.” Like, if your terrible parents are going to heaven when they die.

“The Messiah is too busy, you cannot meet him,” Simeon denies immediately. He even crosses his arms. Expected, but hilarious at the same time.

“What about God? Where does The Creator stay?”

“Our Lord—”

“Father resides at the highest tower of the Celestial Realm,” Simeon cuts off Luke before he can barely say two words. You look at the middle of the place, far away, where there is a tall and slim tower that touches the sky. Must be the place. “The tower is guarded with Heaven’s strongest angels.”

“But no one can come there?”

Simeon stops walking. He stares deeply into your eyes with an unreadable expression.

“Hmm. I think Tsuki has a point, Simeon,” Luke thinks out loud.

“Is he weak? Can I fist fight God and win?” Solomon snorts loudly beside you again.

You felt like you broke Simeon because he stays immobile. He isn’t even blinking. After a full minute he forces a laugh.

“Don’t be ridiculous, little lamb.” He moves his hand quickly and starts walking forward again. “You can’t! Hahaha, father is very powerful. The guards…how can I say it...are more of a tradition.” He makes a gesture of dismissal and keeps on a fast pace. You and the others have to run to catch him.

The older angel changes the subject right after. He starts rambling about these outskirts, that no one can come to the Celestial Realm straight to the ‘City’, as every portal opens somewhere on the outskirts. Also, you have been unlucky again, apparently you two teleported to a farther away point.

Being a total little shit, you ask if it is a safety measure and Simeon can’t stop Luke in time before the smaller angel yells ‘Yes!’ in the most excited tone possible. You giggle, happily, and keep quiet after. Although you really want to ask if it has always been like this or if it’s a safety measure created after the brothers were banished, you reluctantly keep yourself quiet. Seems clear that even God must fear something. If security here were lax, you would think it’s only to show power.

This place is hot… Not ‘hot like Hell’, but sure is hot. You have to take off your jacket and tie it on your waist. And you fold up the sleeves of your shirt. Can’t someone have warned you that the Celestial Realm has a fucking hot sun? You spare a glare to Solomon, who also looks like he’s suffering. With a sigh, the sorcerer makes his cool cape disappear and grabs a piece of grass. That grass is transformed into a wide parasol, similar to a lily pat. Quickly, you rush under the parasol and whisper a ‘Thank you, Mister Magician!’ to Solomon, who smiles at you. As you step closer, you see Solomon has red cheeks. Ah, of course, he was denying how the sun was frying him up too. 

The city is livelier than what you would expect. There are angels running and flying from one side to another. Many narrow streets can be seen between the large buildings. What seems to be a local street market is at the right side. Luke points at the buildings on the left side that look like old churches. The small angel tells you that this is the angels academy where younger angels train until they can grow wings and become ‘real’ angels. They study and train all day.

Ahead, there are higher buildings with blue stained glass, which Simeon explains is the place where common angels stay. Every section of this city seems to be separated based on the level of the angels. Every couple of buildings have different colored stained glass with different symbols to indicate which angels live there. Simeon takes you all farther down the street, to a building with green stained glass. His Sector.

The interior is simple and all white. Why is everything white here?! It honesty looks weird with how bare the whole place is. To one side is the library and the other, the training grounds. With a motion of his hand, Solomon makes his grass parasol disappear. Aw, there goes the cool thing, rest in peace. Simeon, after finishing with the explanations, takes you all upstairs. The walls start to have some color and the doors are all fancy looking. The angel opens a door that leads to an ornate room. It’s more decorated here. There is bright green wallpaper and paintings on the walls. A vast wood table is in the center surrounded by green detailed chairs. There’s a balcony on a side with opened stained glass doors. You wait while Simeon goes to make some tea and Luke runs around the place, opening cabinets, searching for something.

“Have you liked the Celestial Realm so far, Tsuki?” Solomon asks. You tear your eyes from Luke preparing a tray of cookies and small cakes to look at the fellow human.

“Guess so. Pretty place. Too much white, however, tires my eyes,” you complain in a low tone, afraid of the angels listening. “I kind of wished to see more of how their society works, instead of having tea at Simeon’s place.”

“Ah, I know how you feel,” Solomon nods, more serious now. “The angels sure are a bit more reserved than the demons. I didn’t see much myself—”

Solomon suddenly gets silent when the angels come back to the table. Simeon pours some special tea and Luke goes on a long ramble about all the different pieces of cake he baked for today. Contrary to Devildom food, all the celestial food sounds and looks very appetizing. You end up trying a bunch of different cakes since they all taste so good. While you eat like there’s no tomorrow (Beel would be so proud!), Simeon and Solomon talk about the exchange program.

“Eh? We are going back too?” Luke asks, making you stop eating to pay attention to the conversation now.

“Yes, I was in contact with Diavolo this week and he invited us back!” Simeon smiles excitedly while saying. “And I already talked with Michael and the other higher ups, there’s no problem and we are going to the Devildom in two days.”

“EH?!” Luke lets out another surprised gasp. “Why do you never tell me anything Simeon?!” the tiny angel puffs and pouts. He is so adorable all fired up like that. 

“Haha, sorry, I wanted to make a surprise!”

“Ew, you’re just like Solomon then,” you comment, voice monotone and without emotion. “ _’I just wanted to make a surprise’—_ fast forward to the next day, when I had to quickly pack my things to move down there again,” you complain, pouting too. Luke emphatically agrees with you. Nice to know you have backup. 

Both Solomon and Simeon smile in a forced way. The wizard offers you a small ‘sorry!’, blushing slightly. The tea time continues alright, the angels talk about some technical stuff and Luke lets escape and he misses the Devildom too. Everyone jumps on the small angel to tease him. When you think about trying to ask Simeon more about the Celestial realm, you hear the sound of wings flapping. Looking in the direction of the balcony, you see three figures approaching.

One is a small and slim female angel, with short brown hair. She has clothes identical to Simeon, but lacking a cape. Instead, she has a scarf. Another angel comes right after her. This one is more male like, and has long pink hair that goes in all directions, looking as wild as your own hair. He has the same tan skin as Simeon and is as tall as he. His clothes are a bit different: his shirt isn’t like the others, and is a fancy button up shirt with short sleeves and a blue tie. He has white gloves as well. The third angel is very different. He also has clothes with long sleeves, showing no skin but his neck. While the majority of his clothes are white, they lack the blue of the other angels, instead being adorned in gold and black. He has very long blond hair, almost white, and a small white wing hair pin close to his left ear. He must be important, as even his aura is a bit different. You can barely register he has more than just two wings.

“Oh, Mister Michael!” Luke exclaims. 

Michael? Who? The blond guy? You are already smirking, this the best thing that could have happened!

“Hello everyone!” the blond angel smiles and opens his arms. He comes forward and the other two follow him. “Solomon, good to see you again! And you,” his blue eyes focus on you, “must be Tsukishima, the other human who was in the exchange program to the Devildom.”

“Yes, nice to meet you,” the words leave you timidly. This angel smiles as much as Diavolo and your 'suspect' senses have flared. 

“I am the archangel Michael, current leader of the biggest Legion on the Celestial Realm. Those are two of my best angels, Laurel and Asher,” he introduces both angels. “Say, you live together with Lucifer and the others, right? How are the brothers? Are they well?”

“Uh, yes, they are all well.”

“Oh, wonderful!” he exclaims happily. “How’s Lucifer? I miss him SO much. I wish he would reply to my letters…” he looks away, depressed. 

Oh. Wonderful. Indeed, this is another Diavolo. A disgusting fan of Lucifer. Bummer. You thought Lucifer was exaggerating. 

“Lucifer told me you’re full of shit.”

Simeon gasps so loudly over the table it scares Luke. Solomon is laughing again and you can’t help but feel your face heat. The two angels behind Michael are caught by surprise for a second, but then Laurel frowns. Surprising everyone, Michael laughs loudly and wholeheartedly too.

“Hahaha, typical Lucifer! I guess he still didn’t forgive me for sending the order to fire the arrows as they were falling.”

Wait, _what_? Is it because of him that Lilith had her wing pierced and all that mess happened?! Holy shit, no wonder he hates the guy. 

“Excuse me, but you expect him to _forgive_ you?” you ask amidst shock. 

“Of course!” Michael exclaims like it’s an obvious thing. “After all, I forgive him for his little rebellion.”

Oh.

Wow. Imagine a more bull-headed guy... Maybe he’s, in truth, extremely ignorant of others’ feelings. Actually, you were wrong, Diavolo is way more considerate. And that’s a low bar. 

You shouldn’t say it. You totally shouldn’t say what’s going on inside your head. Bad idea. No. Don’t do that. Don’t—

“I mean, I only did what was the best for the Celestial Realm,” Michael continues, unbothered. “Lucifer and his brothers decided to act roguishly and demand changes that are unthinkable, so, as another Seraph, I had to maintain the order and fight the rogue angels.” As he makes a pause, you have to press your lips together to not tell him to fuck off. “But it was such a long time ago!” The archangel smiles again, “Shouldn’t they have moved on and gotten over it by now?” 

“I think he has no obligation to _ever_ forgive you.” There, you said it. The filtered version at least. “The arrows _killed_ their brothers and sisters. You may have forgiven him, but you shouldn’t expect the same from Lucifer and his brothers because they may not think the same way as you. And I can guarantee, they did _not_ forget nor ‘moved on’ as much as you hope they did.”

This seems to catch Michael by surprise. His smile drops. The angels next to him aren’t looking at you with a murderous expression anymore. Odd. Your friends at the table are all petrified as well.

“I… This makes a lot of sense,” Michael speaks slowly, his brow furrowed in a pensive way. “I see, you are probably right.”

Your eyebrows go up in surprise. You were expecting denial, not for the angel to agree with you. Could he be less ignorant than what you thought before? Just stubbornly fixed on what he believes, perhaps? Narrow minded, maybe?

Taking a quick look around, you see all angels are still pretty much mortified. You bet no one actually says what’s going on in their head in front of Michael. Oh well. _‘Be the change you want to see in the world, I guess.’_

“Well, since you’re here, you might have questions,” Michael says in a more cheerful way, radically changing the subject. 

“Yes!” Oh finally! Good thing you managed to make him shut up about Lucifer. Amazing what some killer sincerity can do to a man. “I want to ask about…”

“About Lucifer’s past!” the archangel explodes. Laurel and Asher both sigh deeply and drop their shoulders in a defeated way. Your mouth hangs open immediately.

“Uh, _no_ ,” you try to speak in an angry tone, but Michael is already on a full-blown ramble.

“Did you know there was a time when an angel sneakily brought a dog up to the Celestial Realm?” he tells the tale very excitedly. Laurel sighs even louder and rolls her eyes. If you have to guess, she has heard this story a thousand times. “The dog escaped everyone, but Lucifer managed to catch him! Oh, he looked so cute with the dog! He denied liking it, but I am sure he’s a dog person.” In the same second, you send _death_ glares to Luke, Simeon and Solomon, telepathically warning them ‘do _not_ speak of Cerberus!’

“He was always a very strict and exemplary angel…” He is still at it. “There was nothing Lucifer couldn’t do! When I couldn’t make Mammon fit for an angel, I sent him to Lucifer and he did a wonderful job!” Wait, he finally said something interesting. So, Mammon was a troublesome guy ever since he was a young angel? And Lucifer looked after him? No wonder they have such a strong bond! “And he was so beautiful! The light of Heaven, no doubt! ...”

And he doesn’t stop talking… Your patience is dangerously low. Any second now you are going to snap at this very important angel and regret all of your life choices. 

“…A great leader too. Is he still like that in the Devildom?”

A…a question?! Now is the time to make Michael regret meeting you.

“Listen, **_I really don’t care!_ ** ” you say slowly and emphatically. You’re one step away from shouting at him. “I don’t give a _flying_ **_fuck_ ** how Lucifer used to be as an angel!” The gasps that came from Asher and Laurel are comically loud. Taking advantage that Michael seems to be stunned again, you keep going before someone interrupts you again. “I _live_ with Lucifer and his brothers, if I wanted to talk about it, I can just _ask them!”_ Not exactly true but no one knows. “Why are you even rambling about it? I want to know about the angel society. Are the angels born with their respective rank? Can they grow stronger and get another pair of wings? Where do the human souls go when they die? What exactly is your job in the human realm? Why does no one tell me actual interesting stuff instead of thousands of years old stories about the ‘good old days’? Were they even that good or is it just nostalgia?” As you say the last few words, you made sure to speak as mockingly as possible to make the point come across. 

An awkward silence hangs in the air. Michael seems to have become even paler at your words. The archangel is all stiff with a hand awkwardly over his chest, and his mouth is open. You can only hope they don’t punish you like the demons. Maybe Michael will only throw you from Heaven.

“Anyway!” Simeon suddenly stands up and marches to Asher’s side. His forced smile is so fake, you almost laugh. “What Michael forgot to say before he rambled a bit, is that Asher here is coming to the Devildom as well as a new exchange student!” He frantically taps the pink haired angel’s shoulder. 

“RaMbLeD a BiT,” Laurel says in a mocking tone under her breath.

“ _What?”_ both you, Solomon and Luke ask at the same time.

Asher blushes a bit and smiles. Simeon tries to maintain attention on both of them but your eyes still drift to the petrified Michael. He still is frozen in the same place. Luke complains about Simeon not telling him anything again. Surprising you, Laurel, someone who certainly looks like she’s fed up with her boss all the time, walks to Michael and pushes on his lower abdomen. The archangel trips forward and holds his stomach. But as soon as he moves, he composes himself.

“We should be going for your next assignment, sir.”

“That’s right!” Michael exclaims, smiling as if nothing has happened. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we must go. It was a pleasure to meet you, Tsuki, and to see you again, Solomon!”

“Was it?”

The archangel simply smiles and waves, in a robotic way, before turning around to fly off the balcony. He has six wings. You actually can’t believe he flat out _ignored_ you.

“We’ll meet again in the Devildom,” Asher sympathetically says before going after Michael.

However, instead of leaving as well, Laurel remains still for a few seconds longer. She opens a big smile and winks at you. Her lips move, spelling ‘thank you’. Looks like someone is pleased Michael got a Tsuki-level lecture. Ah, the brothers will be overjoyed to hear that. _‘Tsuki even gives MICHAEL a lecture? What a crazy human!’_ you can hear the words perfectly in your head, in Mammon’s voice, Levi’s signature “WHOOOO” in the background.

As the angels fly away again, you remain in the silence of the tea room, looking fixedly at the clean sky outside the balcony. 

“Tsuki,” Luke's voice drags you away from your dazed state.

“Yes?”

“I’ve never seen _anyone_ talk to Master Michael like _that.”_

“Yeah, I can tell by the way he got so stunned and pretended it didn’t happen.”

“Tsuki.”

“Yes?”

“Do you fear anything?”

“The only things that can scare me shitless are Lucifer and not being able to breathe.”

Luke keeps quiet at that. Simeon suddenly laughs and sits heavily on a chair.

“To be honest, he _does_ talk a bit too much about Lucifer.”

“Are you saying Master Michael _deserved_ it, Simeon?” the angel laughs a bit more. 

For a moment you think Simeon will defend himself, but he simply shrugs. Luke pouts, but doesn’t insist on it. Solomon tries to be a peacemaker; he stands to pour more tea for everyone and make comments about the other angels instead. 

“Does everyone love Lucifer here?” you ask suddenly, daydreaming again. Asher didn’t show much emotion, but Luke doesn’t like Lucifer—just like any demon—and Laurel seemed very happy about you calling Michael out. Simeon is a wild card that you’re not counting.

“Not really,” Luke replies seriously. “Most of the younger angels like me, who were born after the Great War, don’t have strong feelings about the fallen angels. But with the older ones, they either dislike the demons or have good memories of them. Mister Michael however…”

“Oh, so he’s the exception? The extreme of a spectrum?”

“You can say that, yes,” Simeon nods to Luke's words. “You got angry he insisted on talking about Lucifer and not about Celestial Realm things, right? I’ll answer your questions now, Tsuki!”

This surprises you. By now, you had pretty much given up on it. Solomon sits closer and you both listen carefully to Luke’s lecture on angel life. Basically, every angel ages at a different rate. Some age faster than others and the number of wings they grow is an indicator of their potential. So, an angel can grow six wings at a time, but it’s rare. They can also grow stronger and reach higher ranks, but it takes a long time. The most powerful angels are all very old. 

Only once the angel has wings, can they go to the human world. Simeon coughs and Luke’s words become vaguer. From what you get, angels try to help the humans in subtle ways and they fight demons that spawn in the human world. They call them imps, and they are similar to Little Ds. Those lower level demons try to tempt the humans and cause problems, including harming humans. The angels kill those demons, but, as Simeon tiredly says, it’s a never-ending job because they spawn from negative emotions. Now you get scared; how many imps have been created by your anger? You really don’t want to know.

They don’t answer about what happens when someone dies, however. Simeon, not so subtly, rambles about it for a bit. From what you can pierce together, the souls of the dead go to another ‘layer’ of the Celestial Realm. So, this place has layers just like the Devildom. And both are top secret, it seems, as everyone refuses to talk about what goes on in those other ‘layers.’

After the long tea, Simeon asks if there’s anything else you want to do before going back. He offers either visiting the famous Heaven gardens, the museum or their central church. You honestly don’t feel like going to any of those places, but going back now would feel like a waste, so you spend a few minutes discussing with Solomon about it. In the end, you two decide to visit the museum first then the gardens.

The walk to the museum is pleasant at least. It still is hot as fuck so you and Solomon try to walk in the shadow of the tall buildings. The museum is big and very fancy. The floor sparkles golden. All the windows are made of colorful stained glass. There are many paintings, a vast section with books, and another with sculptures. You go straight to the painting of the Great Celestial War and Solomon goes for the books. Luke has to go after you and Simeon goes to run after Solomon. Most of the paintings are dark and full of blood and dead bodies. They also all describe the brothers as evil incarnate. That’s actually impressive. You can also recognize all the brothers in different paintings. In one, Leviathan is ripping the heart of an angel with a golden lance. He looks really imponent here, you take a photo of it. The paintings make Beel look evil and Belphegor eviler. In many paintings, you can see Asmo and Mammon absolutely massacring their fellow angels. Not even the Devildom has this level of bad propaganda. You wouldn’t be surprised if it's actually easier to find angels that hate the brothers with a burning passion than to find ones fawning over Lucifer. As always, your bad luck makes things be like that. 

For some hilarious reason, The Fall of Lucifer is a giant painting in the middle of the main saloon and it looks as hot as the human paintings. The Lucifer of the painting is pretty much half naked, with a flawless body and piercing, furious eyes. Holy shit, this man is way too beautiful.

“I’m stealing it,” you say out loud while starting at it. Luke gasps and proceeds to explain how you cannot steal it. “Don’t stop me, Luke, I’m gonna steal.”

A few angels walking by give you really ugly looks, but you don’t mind. Luke is still raging about stealing. The (many) photos you take of the painting make no justice to the sheer beauty of it. Dear Lord, how do you steal a six meters tall and nine meters wide painting from Heaven? Is this blasphemy? Nah, you don’t want to come here after dying anyway, Hell’s cooler. And this is definitely blasphemy.

You don’t move away. When you get tired, you simply sit on a bench right in front of The Fall of Lucifer. Luke asks several times if you don’t want to see the other sections, with equally relevant Celestial Realm history, but you say no, preferring to drool over this painting while still thinking of stealing it. The angels hate him, right? Wouldn’t it be considered a favor to take it away? You could shrink it and put it in your pocket; the only problem is someone seeing you doing it. Stealing this _eye sore_ , magnificent, stunning, flawless, out of this world, painting of your boyfriend to show off proudly in your room. 

Oh right, if an angel knew you are dating The Lucifer, would they kill you on the spot or cast you down just like the rebels? For some reason this way of thinking makes you laugh. Something in the back of your head tells you the angels are a lot more patient and less violent than the demons. However, the paintings here have some very feral and _raw_ violence emanating from them.

Sometime later, an annoyed Solomon enters the space followed by a well humored Simeon. It’s Solomon’s time to rage. He goes off about the angels not letting him read their sacred texts. Well, why should they? This is a museum, not a library. You say that to him and never once had you seen such anger on Solomon’s face. It throws you off so much you don’t know what to say. The wizard clicks his tongue in an angry way and starts walking in circles, trying to calm down. You and the angels let him burn off this anger. A few minutes later, the sorcerer comes back and politely apologizes and asks if you’re still up to see the gardens before leaving.

“Only after you help me steal this painting.”

“Are you still thinking about it?!” Luke exclaims in an exasperated way.

The boys laugh. But you were being serious… Sadly, you have to walk away without the painting. 

Leaving the museum, you can’t help but notice how the angels here have been purposely walking away from your small group. When you walk further away from the main city, you decide to mention it to the angels.

“Is it just me or do the angels not like me? Does everyone already know I said bad things to Michael?”

“No way!” Luke shakes his head. But his small pout becomes a sad expression. “It’s because of the demons’ miasma.”

“Uh? Like, Devildom smell?” you ask, confused.

“No, it’s the pacts you two have,” Simeon clarifies.

“You see, Tsuki, demon pacts corrupt the human soul,” Solomon talks now. “The angels can tell we have been tainted by the demons and don’t want to be near us.”

“But Michael and his bodyguards were fine?”

“Uh…” Simeon looks down, unsure. “I think Asher doesn’t mind because he was the one who dealt with the exchange demons in the Celestial Realm but I can’t speak for the others. Normally angels do not like demons and try to stay away from humans corrupted by demons.”

“But—shouldn’t they try to convince the humans or something like that, like, to try to save them?”

“It’s a bit more complicated, Tsuki…” Luke trails off.

“If a human makes a pact with a demon, they know what they are getting into and we are trained to not mess with them. Only to protect other humans from getting the same fate,” Simeon says seriously.

That’s…new. So, the angels have to follow a strict code that includes prioritizing some humans in favor of others. Suddenly, you are reminded of the injured angel Solomon found in the human world and you wonder if he was beaten by a demon someone summoned. You should ask later.

“I see. So, are you still a human, Solomon?”

The wizard lets out a loud laugh for what seems like the hundredth time today.

“You are killing me today, Tsuki!” he giggles a little longer. “It’s never a dull moment with you around.” He cleans tears from his eyes. “I assure you I’m still a human.”

You nod and the conversation ends there. 

The heavenly gardens are a wide and circular space in the center of the main city of angels. There are many bushes with different forms and many differently colored flowers. The walls of the place, that look like a weird mix of old building ruins and an open air art gallery, all have vertical gardens too. While most flowers are similar to what you can see in the human world, others have completely different shapes. A yellow and white one looks like a pair of wings, and the wing-like petals flap when someone passes close to them. At least they aren’t like devildom flowers who are angry and very alive. The first time you set foot in the RAD greenhouse, a carnivorous plant _ran_ after a student, leaving you and your fellow exchange students mortified. Luckily the garden of the House of Lamentation doesn’t have those types of plants. 

Simeon and Luke walk around the garden showing their favorite flowers and plants. Simeon likes the medicinal plants the most and Luke is very knowledgeable of all sorts. When you ask if you can take a flower to the Devildom, Luke frowns and says the flower will die in minutes thanks to the heavy demon miasma. That reminds you of something you never asked them before, if the Devildom miasma affected them or not. Simeon explains that it does: the evil air corrupts both human and angel souls, but since the angels are ‘purer’ than the humans, they are affected worse and more quickly. That’s why the clothes the angels use are different; they have special charms to nullify the miasma and stay safe.

After taking a few photos of the pretty garden, Simeon opens a portal to send you and Solomon back to the Devildom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many personal headcanons here. I am always ready to talk about my headcanons xD


	4. Pretty Venom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty Venom (Interlude) by All Time Low
> 
> “I think I'm going through denial. It's been a while. But it's clear when it hits me. I think I might have gone insane. I rot my brain, Getting high on our history.”

**Chapter 4 – Pretty Venom (Interlude)**

After you come back from your trip to Celestial Realm, Lucifer calls you to his study. Welp, that was fast, he really doesn’t want you talking about what you learned about him as an angel, doesn't he? You really weren’t going to talk much about it… Still, you walk through the room, looking around nervously. 

“You should sit down,” Lucifer suggests. He’s organizing a big pile of papers.

“Am I in trouble? I swear the things Michael said were barely understandable.”

He squints his eyes at the angel’s name. 

“I don’t care about a single word that he said. And no, you’re not in trouble this time, I called you here because I got all of your family records.”

“Already?! So, Diavolo, the bastard, really did have all of it all this time?”

The demon growls now, and his expression gets even angrier. 

“He had and he still didn’t listen to  _ all _ my complaints about it! Can’t believe he hid such a thing…” He murmurs some more under his breath. It’s both weird and refreshing to see Lucifer pissed off at Diavolo about something. And by what he said, Diavolo still has another long lecture coming his way. You suppress a smile. “Anyway, you should sit.” He messes with the papers in his hands again, reordering them. Ah, so, those papers are the family records! You really want to read them now.

“Is it that serious? Like, more mind-blowing than being a human descendant of your long dead sister?” you ask. Instead of sitting, you hover over a chair, your arms resting atop it.

“It’s…a lot,” Lucifer loses his angry expression and looks away. Well, if he’s acting like this, it must at least be unusual. 

“Come on, shoot. I’m getting anxious!”

With a sigh, the demon nods.

“Alright. To be honest, your family—I mean— _ your grandfather’s family _ , was the main reason Lord Diavolo banished all demons from trespassing freely into the human world a few years ago,” he starts. That’s kind of impressive…what did they even  _ do  _ to accomplish that? “Your grandfather was the second child of a couple of cultist leaders. Their cult was made of followers of a demon called Andras. Their objective was to summon Andras and make a pact with him. Unclear why, but everything points to the common stuff: power and money,” he adds tersely. “So, the cultists plan to summon Andras was…to sacrifice their oldest son. In the old-fashioned way.”

“Ok, I’m sitting.”

Since you have the feeling Lucifer didn’t even start saying the main stuff yet, you decide to sit to save yourself from fainting to the ground. He barely started telling you their story and it already feels so  _ wrong _ . Your great grandparents sacrificed their first born to summon a demon?! How fucked up is that?! What can possibly make a person do that? Only power and money?

Lucifer examines you with calm eyes for a moment, before he turns his eyes back to the papers in his hands.

“Continuing, they  _ did _ summon Andras, which is how everything went downhill. Andras had used low level demons to get in contact with the humans and convince them to do it. It’s unclear if he said the sacrifice was necessary but I wouldn’t put it past him. After being summoned, the humans didn’t manage to form a pact with the demon. As a result, they were all killed and some  _ eaten _ by the demon and his minions.”

You only stare at the demon in front of you. It’s a bit hard to make the connection of those people’s stories with your family. It feels like he’s telling a tale of unfortunate humans that didn’t know what they were messing with. 

“Luckily for your grandfather, he was safe at home. He was also just a baby back then, barely over a year old. When other humans found what happened, he was sent to an orphanage. Basically, all of his family died on the same day,” he says emotionlessly, like he’s talking about the weather or some sad ancient tale. “I also looked into the records of the other humans who were in the cult and most of them were regular humans, with the exceptions of four individuals who showed some talent for magic. Your great grandmother included. It seems like some magic runs in the family blood. By the way, with Andras free to roam in the human world, he caused a lot of damage. Which was his intention all along, to cause chaos. He’s cunning and maleficent, so it took us some time to hunt him down. To give you some dimension of how evil Andras is towards humans, he’s directly related to what you call The Second World War.”

“ _ What? _ ”

“He has a long list of crimes against humanity.”

_ Unbelievable _ . You would fall down if you were not sitting already. A part of your family is partly responsible for The Second World War, WHAT?! As if only being a descendant of fucking cultists who were ready to sacrifice an innocent child to a demon wasn’t enough! No wonder only Diavolo and Lucifer can come and go freely between realms! The last time a powerful demon walked around free it created a global war!

“There's also something very curious here.” He mixes the order of the records again, seemingly to look for something specific.

“There’s  _ more?!” _

“Indeed.” He looks so damn calm while you freak out. “I checked, and your Lilith descendance comes from  _ your father's side _ of the family.” You make a confused sound, some greatly exaggerated ‘ _ Uh?! _ ’, to which the demon nods, checking the right record. “Yes, I was surprised too. In fact, I have a theory. Since her blood, and by extension, her powers, has been diluted over time, and since your mother’s side of the family doesn’t have much magical power running there, once both bloodlines combined it seems to result in an individual of great magical capacities. You.”

“Can you like, slow down, for a minute?” you beg. That’s a lot to take in.

“Of course.” Leaving the papers over his desk, Lucifer stops and only stares at you.

Burying your face in your hands, you sigh. Would have been better to keep being ignorant of all that. Being a descendant of a previous angel isn’t that bad, but some cultist that died after releasing an awful demon into the human world? That’s the worst. And if Lucifer is right, did Lilith’s blood give origin to powerful families of magicians? Solomon told you how his family is all composed of sorceress and witches. Is he a Lilith descendant too? Now those thoughts are going into a mad spiral that opens doors to many questions.

You know there’s nothing you can do about it and that none of it is your fault, but you still feel guilty. It's irrational. You also don’t like how it all seems so connected. Either it is a deity’s doing or there’s some mad coincidences going on around your life and family. A deity (God or Diavolo) seems more plausible too. It’s also someone else to blame.

After a moment, Lucifer asks if you are feeling well. Taking a deep sigh, your hands move down so you can face the prideful demon again. 

“He hid that on purpose,” you say with confidence, going back to the first subject of all of this conversation: Diavolo.

“I know that,” Lucifer grimaces. “When I questioned him about it, he only said he didn’t want to burden you with this knowledge.”

“He didn’t want to burden me or he didn’t want to tell me shit that wasn’t interesting to  _ his _ benefit?!” you explode. “At the very least, he should have told me my uncle was a sorcerer!” Throwing your hands in the air, you make a lot of rapid and angry gestures. It’s almost comical how, every time you are over something Diavolo did, he either does something else or you find out stuff he did that just sank whatever hope of trust you can have on the demon. “Are you even going to check on powerful magicians to see if they are Lilith descendants too?!”

“As much I would love to see if there is a connection or not, I don’t think I want to know even more Lilith descendants…” Lucifer admits, with a pensive expression.

Well, you don’t blame him for this reasoning. Sighing yet again, you fall into the comfortable chair. You don’t really feel angry about Diavolo knowing and hiding it, it’s more like disdain. And a lot of shock. You just don’t know how to deal with it. What are you even going to tell auntie?! She doesn’t deserve to be the only one (besides you) to know the whole truth so she can stress about it. No way. Auntie is only going to know a fraction of his mess.

“You don’t look well,” Lucifer constates after a minute or two. He has his eyebrows down in a soft expression. “I suppose it’s a lot. But don’t fret about it.”

“A bit too late to say that, Lucifer.” A sad laugh escapes your lips. “Honestly? I don’t know how to feel about all of this.”

And your hands are back on your face. Just like when you found out that you have a connection to Lilith, you feel many emotions boiling inside of your body. All these feelings inside of you, it’s overwhelming.

There’s a sound of some shifting and a few seconds later, you can feel Lucifer’s hand on your back, gently making circles on your muscles. It soothes you enough that a few tears fall from your eyes. But you clean them soon after. Maybe after calming down and digesting all of this new info, you can feel more at peace.

  
  


Next day, Satan comes to meet you with your human phone in hands. He has a friend who works in the D.D.D. industry and they promised to fix your human phone so it can work in the Devildom. This way you can still have contact with your human friends, therapist and family. It was all good until you turned on the phone: three missed calls from mom. Immediately you feel sick and your heart tries to jump out of your chest. You are still processing your grandfather's side of the family and mom decides to  _ call?  _ Ok, calm down, maybe someone died. That has to be the only explanation. So, you check your messages app. Nothing out of the ordinary here. One message from mom, however: ‘call me’. The anxiety skyrockets again.

“What does this awful woman want with me?!” you yell to the empty room.

Well fuck, this is bad. Very bad. Either you call her and just embrace this panic attack or you can not call and keep stressing over it for days. You don’t know which one is worse.

You pace around the room, not sure what to do. Checking the phone time, you curse: it’s past nine, she’s home. A streak of curses leaves your lips as you leave your room. Walking fast in the corridors, you see the lights on the common room, so someone must be here.

Beel is eating from a big bag of chips while Belphie lays on his lap. There is a mountain of books on the floor under them. The twins were probably studying not too long ago. You walk to them, still clutching at the phone.

“Hi, Tsuki,” Beel greets, his mouth full of chips.

“Hi, I, uh…I need to make a phone call.” This sounds a bit stupid now that you said it out loud… “Can I have some, uhh, moral support?”

“Sure.”

Okay. They probably think you are crazy now since you are freaking out over a phone call, but you feel like there's a knot in your throat and you can no longer speak. Instead, you dial mom’s number just to end this suffering. You can even let her rant with Beel on line or whatever, brain cannot function well now.

“Oh, Tsuki, I’m glad you decided to call. I want to talk,” mom’s voice comes calmly and composed on the line.

“Hi mom.”

Immediately, Belphegor sits on the couch and Beel’s hold of his bag gets so strong you can hear the sounds of the chips shattering. They are now both looking at you with wide eyes, which does nothing to ease your anxiety. 

You remain quiet while mom speaks. And it’s the most bizarre conversation ever. She called to apologize, which speaks volumes since you were certain the woman would just dishonor you in cold blood after the last call. She first explained how father and auntie convinced her to do it. Then, her little show started. As usual, she is terrible at apologizing. Just like Lucifer, she refuses to accept when she is in the wrong, instead, she plays as a victim. Her tale is the same as always too: “The work that day was too stressful! She didn’t mean it in a bad way! It was just a moment where she was hot headed!”  _ As if that excuses all the awful things she told you! _

It was for the best that you stayed silent the whole time, otherwise it would just end in a shouting match. When she was done with her ‘not an actual apology’ she was expecting one too. 

“So, I take it you were also  _ not well _ when you said you wouldn’t come back home, right?” In moments like this you can’t help but think the demons are a lot better. At least they never guilt-tripped you. 

“Uh…” You walk around, stop, and look at the demons, they seem ready to jump and interrupt the call at any given second. Beel isn’t even eating. “Y-Yeah, the things you said make me a bit angry and I said those terrible things when I was angry too, I didn’t…mean, it.” Belphie opens his mouth to protest, but Beel puts a hand on his shoulder and he remains silent.

“Ah, that’s great! You are free to come back home whenever you want to, Tsuki.”  _ Wow _ , they must be really missing you doing the house chores, hum?  _ Servers them right _ . Either that, or they are afraid of you turning your back at them when they become older. Which you are also planning to do. “And about what your friend said—”

“Ah, please excuse my friend!” you say quickly. “H-He misunderstood a little… Thought that…you weren’t going to let me travel...” Shoot, that’s a terrible lie!

“I see.”

_ Aaaaaah _ , your heart is beating wildly again. Did she seriously believe that?! And if Lucifer finds out you said that, he’ll be  _ pissed _ . He hates your mother more than you. Pretty sure he wouldn’t let you call her ever again.

“I’m really sorry, okay? I feel like we are always fighting…” mom says, in that very victim-like tone. The ‘but I didn’t do anything wrong’ tone. It tires you.

“I know…mother,” you reluctantly agree, then sigh, feeling weak. ‘ _ Maybe we are always fighting because YOU can’t accept me!’ _ “…Sorry…” Well, if she can pretend to regret what she said, so can you. Everything to not lose their heritage. 

Belphie grimaces at it, his brother keeps on staring at you, stoic.

“I’m glad we are able to sort this out so—Tsuki!” she says in a more cheerful note. Is it you or…did she just hesitate to call you ‘son’? This has to be the most considerate thing she has said all day. No, all year. Actually, this just earns her a few points in your book. “You can call us anytime you want.”

“Uuhhh…”  _ ‘I really don’t want to! You are abusive and manipulative!’  _ Never once did your parents want you to spend your whole life with them, and now that you left their ass, they suddenly miss you?! It doesn’t sit well with you…

“Tsuki! Doshite ano hito ni ayamateru desu ka?” Belphie yells suddenly. It is impressive that he remembered you are supposed to be in Japan.

(Translation: ‘Why are you apologizing to that person?’)

“Ah, sorry mom, Billy is calling, I think the food is ready.”

“That’s okay, have fun. Have a good night—Oh, I mean, a good day.”

“Bye mom.” You turn the call off as quickly as humanly possible.

Feeling light headed, you fall heavily into the couch. At the same time, Beel and Belphie stare down at you.

“You ok?”

“Do you need anything? Water?”

“No…thanks.”

Sighing, you remain laying on the couch for a while, waiting for your heartbeat to slow down. It wasn’t  _ that _ bad, but it sucks how your parents can’t just leave you in peace. Fixing this phone was a bad idea, you are already regretting it. Oh shit. You need to call auntie. Just your luck. Accepting some water with sugar, you sit on the couch and dial your aunt's number. This will be another long call. 

  
  


When you’re back at your room, you have a headache. You thought living here would help you but now you feel nothing but stress. And the classes haven’t even started yet! They start tomorrow which is another headache! You sigh.

Auntie's call was a lot better than mother’s. She asked how you were doing first and you almost had a breakdown telling her about mom’s awful attempt to apologize. Turns out auntie scolded mom for what she told you on the last phone call and made her feel bad enough to try to reconcile with you. Pretty impressive in your opinion. Auntie is amazing but you could live with mom hating you.

Because you don’t have much time to think about what you could be telling auntie, you decide to go with the truth: her grandparents were cultists who died trying to summon a demon. You omit the part where they sacrificed their own kid and helped create World War II. She is stunned and shocked, but thanks you for being sincere and looking into the lost family tree. The conversation gets awkward after that and ends not long after. You hope she’s fine.

_ “Hey, Tsuki, you’re fine?” _

“Hey. Guess so,” you reply in a reflex. But wait a minute, aren’t you alone? Whose voice is this? You turn around and scan the room, seeing no one. “Who’s here?”

You are ready to fight and summon demons when you hear the voice again.

_ “Up here.” _

“Up?!” You look at the ceiling, more confused than anxious now.

“ _ This way. No, no, right! More right. The shelf, Tsuki! Yes, here!” _ Focusing your eyes, you look to a point above your coffin shelf. You are already thinking it’s a ghost when you see a small brown spider waving one leg at you. Ah, a spider. Weird, but better than a ghost.

“Hi there,” you wave back to the spider. “I didn’t know Devildom animals could speak but I guess there's no reason why not, right.” Is the spider nodding? It’s hard to see since they are so small. They move a bit on their cobweb. “Have you been here for long, friend?”

_ “A few months, I think. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself before, I tried to, but I guess you couldn’t hear me. Name’s Spencer.” _ And the spider called Spencer waves a leg again. What a sympathetic and polite fellow! Who would expect a spider to be more polite than many humans and demons alike?

“No problem, make yourself at home, I don’t mind company. You are…very small.” Honestly, you couldn’t care less about a sentient spider living on the top of your shelf, you have bigger problems.

_ “Oh, that’s great! I was afraid you or the Little Ds might sweep me away in an accident so I decided to try to introduce myself again. I swear I’ll not be a bother! Just want to eat some insects and live a quiet life _ . _ ” _

“I really don’t mind spiders so you’re safe, Spencer.”

_ “Great. Have a nice day, roommate _ . _ ” _ Spencer waves another leg before moving on their cobweb. 

Cool, you got a roommate. They aren’t a human or a demon and you welcome this change of pace. Maybe Spencer can be your first pet in the Devildom. Would they mind? You try asking again and Spencer says they prefer ‘roommate’. So be it. 


	5. Forever Stuck In Our Youth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forever Stuck In Our Youth By Set It Off  
> “So here I stare. At an empty bottle full of confidence. Fuzzy faded with the poison in my head. It's an empty glass philosophy. I can't help it, I can't stop. Dead, I'm a zombie with no notion of regret. Grab a bucket and a mop cause I'm a mess.”
> 
> Another one of my favorite chapters ^^

**Chapter 5 – Forever Stuck In Our Youth**

Next day comes and the angels are formally introduced again. Asher is here, they look radiant to be down here with the demons. In his speech, Asher announces they don't get the abirtary gender system most humans use and wants to be called by neutral pronouns. Apparently, the angelic language has no pronouns so it makes it even harder for angels to understand. Everyone is pretty chill about it. Asher gets added to the same class you and the other exchange students are in, even though it’s the second year class, just for them to not be left out. It doesn’t seem like Asher cares anyway.

Everything goes as normally as possible. Some demons don’t look happy to see all the previous exchange students back, but that is easy to ignore. The majority of the day consists of you, Simeon, Luke and Solomon showing RAD around to Asher. The angel looked as excited as a child going to an amusement park. They are very cool and polite. Asher stops to excitedly talk to his demon friends, a male and a female demon. They also look happy to see the angel again. The three of them talk for a long time during break.

After class, everyone decides to show the House of Lamentation to the new angel. As usual, everything seems to excite Asher. The demon brothers recognize Asher and they all act very casual about them. However, you notice Asher does not speak to Lucifer. It gets clear when Lucifer asks what Asher thinks of their tour in the house and the angel straight up turns to  _ Levi _ to tell him their impressions of the mansion. Apparently, Asher was closest to Levi back in the Celestial Realm, so they speak to Levi the most. The prideful demon gets the hint as well, since he doesn't speak another word to the angel after that. Intrigued, you keep an eye and ear to any more interactions between those two.

“So, what about the others? Not everyone who falled died, right?” Asher asks once they are sitting and drinking some tea in the common room.

“No, most everyone made it out alive,” replies Mammon. “They live in other parts of the Devildom, only us seven really kept together for this long.”

“I see. I suppose most of them wanted to live their own lives.”

“We're still good friends,” the greed demon shrugs.

“I wish to meet everyone again,” says Asher, but Simeon comments it would be hard since RAD is very demanding. “But I still want to see the other guys again,” Asher pouts now. “Like Sizi, Auriel _ , _ Mahon, Decar… Oh, what about Azazel?”

Asmo chokes upon hearing the name. Mammon and Beel gasp and Lucifer and Belphie both look like they just saw a ghost.

“Azazel is off limits! Do not meet him!” Levi frantically says, moving his arms in a 'no' gesture.

“What… Why?” the angel asks, all innocent and confused.

“Uh, Azazel changed  _ a lot _ , ok?! We fought because… ” Levi looks away, struggling to find words. “He wanted to do things differently and had a different vision than us about a lot of stuff, so it just didn't work out between us anymore. It's been like, three thousand years since the last time any of us spoke to Azazel. He's a completely different person, so you better not go after him.”

You feel as stunned as Asher. That was quite the aggressive reaction to a fallen angel. Silently, you wonder what Azazel was into to have broken down with the brothers this badly. Luckily, Asher nods, also in silence, and doesn't touch this subject again. It will be interesting to have Asher around, this angel doesn't look reluctant to speak about the Celestial Realm or the past angels. Maybe you can finally get more intel about stuff the demons and Simeon don't talk about with Asher. 

Unfortunately, the tense and awkward atmosphere lasts longer, because once Asher doesn't have more to speak about, they point at Satan and ask “Who is he? And why does he live here too?” and suddenly everyone is panicking on the inside again. The expression of absolutely  _ shock _ on the avatar of wrath’s face is heartbreaking. He's going to have a whole meltdown later. Since everyone takes so long to react you panic blurt out that he's the wrath of Lucifer that took demon form after the Fall. Which doesn't answer shit, if you only consider the confused expression Asher made. One by one, the demon brothers start giving more, and different, explanations to how Satan came to life. At the very end, Lucifer decides to speak and says Satan's birth is irrelevant now because he's part of the family and much more than just a part of him. Staring at Satan, you catch him swipe away a tear after Lucifer's speech. He just nods along with Lucifer's explanation. 

Honestly, it's not Asher's fault for not knowing, however they did sound a bit insensitive. Simeon actually pulls Asher away to speak something to them, and you suspect it's about his blunt way of speaking. Simultaneously, you go check on Satan, but he insists he's fine. Even though he still looks a bit off. You stay by his side, either way. 

A while after Asher and the others go home, you join Satan in his room.

“You okay, buddy?”

“Guess so,” the wrath demon shrugs, lying lazily over his bed, surrounded by books.

“You can talk to me about anything,” you try again, being careful.

“I know, Tsuki. I just—I guess it hit me hard because, suddenly, I realized I was never an angel, and I felt...empty? I don't know. Like, I  _ remember _ Asher, but we never meet. That's so weird, right? And I don't blame Asher, I only—It's hard to explain… But you shouldn't worry. You just came back anyway, it's too early for you to come fix my problems!” he lets out a sad laugh.

“I just don't want to see you in any pain or struggling.”

At that, Satan looks at you, calm and serene.

“Thanks, you're the best,” he shows you a small smile. “The feeling is mutual. If you want to join me and scroll down on the cats devilgram, it would cheer me up a little.”

“Sure.”

As you lie beside Satan, on his bed, the demon gets his devilgram and starts looking at the posts in the main cats devilgram. A nice way to cheer up, looking at cute cat photos and videos.

  
  


“So, about this Azazel guy…”

“You can’t be serious,” Mammon deadpans. At his side, Levi chokes on air and shakes his head, worried. It’s break time in RAD and you can’t wait to ask more about the mysterious fallen angel.

“Tsuki, just  _ forget  _ him!” Levi pleads. 

“Listen, I’m not going after someone you guys clearly don’t like, but I am legit curious. Just want to know what happened.”

The two demons look at each other, both unsure. Levi nods, after a minute, and turns to you.

“Ok, I’ll give you the short story: Azazel wasn’t  _ really  _ interested in supporting the same claims as Lucifer and the rest of us, he just ended up hating humans,” Levi explains very seriously. This focused side of him is hard to see when it isn't about his interests. “Azazel had a very real distaste for humans. Lucifer had some too, for a while, so he ended up teaming up with us.”

“But, after the Fall, Azazel hated being a demon,” Mammon says now. They are both very serious, and it feels a bit wrong. “He thought he got cursed… Ah, well, in a way, we all are cursed right? Our sins, they feel more severe than naturally born demons, if that makes any sense to you.” He shrugs, but you can tell there’s weight to his words. In a way, you can understand partially what he means.

“So, the thing is: none of us hated humans as much as Azazel and he finally cut all ties with us over three thousand years ago. In fact, he even hates RAD with a deep passion. But he seems to hate Diavolo too.”

“Let me guess, he hates the human loving Prince of Devildom?” Both demons nod. “Well, then why did it take him such a long time to break up with you guys?”

“He used to respect Lucifer, at least,” Mammon looks away. He seems unsure of something. “But…yeah, things never worked out for him.”

“If he knew there are humans and angels in RAD he may even come here and harm you and the others!” Levi exclaims. In his frown, you can tell he’s worried. So  _ that's _ the issue they have with Azazel.

“How the fuck doesn’t he know already?” you question. Isn’t it common knowledge at this point? Diavolo sure likes to make a big deal of his exchange program and its (questionable) success. 

“He’s in another layer—” Mammon gulps and stops as soon as he says it. “Ah, fuck, screw it,” he shakes his head to a distressed Levi, who keeps signaling to him to not speak. “Azazel went to live in the lower layers of Hell, the news travels a bit slower down there and he made  _ sure  _ to block any contact from Diavolo or RAD, since he hates both so much. He probably doesn’t know. If he did, I bet he would have come to create a ruckus by now. There I said it,” he grimaces to Levi.

“ _ But we are not supposed to tell them about the other layers! _ ” Levi hisses. “If Lucifer knows about it…”

“He  _ won't,” _ Mammon declares, then walks closer to you and looks deeply in your eyes, still so very serious in a way that doesn’t fit his whole laid back personality. “You won’t tell Lucifer a word about the other layers. In fact, never mind this whole conversation.”

“While I don’t mind keeping it a secret, why am I not supposed to know about other places in the Devildom?” you ask, merely curious.

Both demons look at you, faces blank. Levi opens his mouth, after a moment, but he closes it. The avatar of envy looks apprehensively to Mammon, who keeps his serious and calm semblance.

“Can’t tell ya, kid,” the greed demon says, after another beat of silence, and simply walks away. “Already said too much,” he waves as he goes. 

A bit confused, you look at Levi, but he’s a lost cause as well. As soon as you meet eyes, Levi makes an X with his fingers above his lips. Not saying either. Intriguing. If they think you won’t dig on it, they are wrong. 

A few days later, while calmly leaving classes, someone pulls you away all of a sudden. Already ready for a fight, you pull your arm back and look to the aggressor, but it’s only Belial. The demon is smiling. On their messy RAD coat, there’s a big and bright blue pin in the form of the word ‘HE’. So, he has pronoun pins? That’s quite cool, you bet it makes talking to him less awkward.

“Tsutsu!” Belial exclaims, with that big grim of his. He always looks either like he’s planning the prank of the century or done with everyone and everything. Today, he really does look more masculine than the last time you saw him. His hair is styled differently too, in a ponytail. “Yer quite the nice fellow, I would like to invite ya for a party.”

“Party? That’s new,” you comment, amused. No demon you ever befriended ever invited you to a party before. And you barely know Belial. “Also, do you know that only Mephisto can call me Tsutsu?”

“Bet he doesn’t mind!” he loudly declares. 

“I bet he  _ does _ ,” you have to disagree. “I ask you to not call me like that, it's kind of our thing,” you politely tell him.

“Boring!” Belial makes a funny face. “Anyway, I got invitations permission from a friend, he makes quite the parties in the Halloween Zone, did you know?” You shake your head negatively. “I just think it would be fun to have you around!” he winks. “Give me your number and I will give ya all the details. Mephisto is invited too and I am  _ sure  _ he would tag along if you come too.” And he winks yet again. “He just never goes to any parties, Mephs can be so boring, urg!”

Belial is totally the crazy type, but a fun crazy person. If Mephisto is going to, maybe it can be a nice party. It’s been a while since you two hung out.

“Okay, I’m going.” Saying this, you grab your D.D.D. to let him put his contact info there.

“HA! I knew it!” Belial laughs triumphantly. He takes the D.D.D. and adds his number, then spends a minute sending you all the info of this party. “See you this weekend, Tsuki-chan!” 

And as fast as he appears, Belial goes away. A demon’s party, hum? Seems interesting. This new year already started being very interesting. And you’re taking any possible distraction to make you forget that disaster that is your family tree. 

Turns out Asmo is invited to the same party and he becomes completely  _ radiant  _ about going to the same party as you. The avatar of lust helps you get ready a nice whole punk aesthetic for today. You even wear the jacket Lucifer gave you on your birthday.

While going to the front door, you bump into Lucifer in the entryway. The demon eyes you curiously while you open the door to invite Mephisto in. Your friend is nicely dressed too, however, his brown turtleneck, social pants and long coat doesn’t exactly look like what you would use to go to a demons’ party. Maybe he  _ really  _ doesn’t go out. Mephisto has a bored expression when you open the door, but he quickly smiles when he sees you. When he sees Lucifer in the entryway, however, he loses his smile and becomes stiff and serious.

“Mephistopheles is visiting today or…?” Lucifer questions, voice low and  _ almost  _ interrogating like. 

“Uh… No, we and Asmo are going out today,” you answer sheepishly. 

_ “Out?” _

“Aaah, sorry!” You make a cute face and whine. “I think I forgot to tell you!” you lie shamelessly. “We are going to a party tonight. I can go too, right, Lucifer?” your voice and face is all cute and innocent-like, begging for him to just let it pass. The plan was more or less straight up not telling him and just leaving with Asmo and Mephisto. 

“Hmm…” The avatar of pride looks at you carefully. Mephisto is like a statue next to you. It doesn’t even look like he is breathing. “Where is this party at?”

Well, he doesn’t sound mad, that’s good.

“Where is it again, Memphis? Halloween Town?” No that isn’t right, that’s from Disney. 

_ “Halloween Zone?!”  _ Lucifer cuts in. Without a choice, you nod to his sudden raise in tone. “You are not going,” he declares, authoritarian.

“Excuse me, WHAT?” you exclaim as Mephisto gasps beside you.

“You aren't going,” the demon repeats himself, resolute, crossing his arms. “Halloween Zone is dangerous. The demon ‘parties’ here are notorious for being wild and always ending in big fights. It’s too dangerous.”

“But I am not going alone! Memphis and Asmo are going with me!”

“That does the opposite of reassure me!” he yells now. “Those two aren’t a tiny bit responsable and you are a trouble magnet! I am  _ sure _ this ‘party’ will end in a fight and you won’t turn down an opportunity to fight, I know you.”

_ Unbelievable! _ Lucifer is one hundred percent right, but he doesn’t need to say it! His harsh words stun you for a moment. Your mouth opens and closes several times but no sounds escape your lips.

“Are you really  _ forbidding  _ me from going out?” you ask incredulously.

“I am,” Lucifer says impassibly, “from this party at least, but if I let you leave now, you’ll just go there right?” he correctly points out. “In that case, you can take those clothes off, you aren’t leaving this house tonight.”

A loud gasp escapes your lips now. Stomping on the ground in frustration, you let out a strangled yell.

“I  _ hate  _ you, Lucifer!” you yell. Asmo who just got to the entryway stops suddenly and his eyes go wide. “You  _ can’t _ forbid me from doing things!”

“Yes, I can,” he says tersely.

“ _ Sit _ ,” you command in a blind rage. The avatar of pride makes a startled expression before he falls heavily with his ass to the ground.

Not waiting for an angry comeback, you march back to your room. Asmo and Mephisto run after you. The pact mark on your hand  _ burns _ , but you try your best to ignore it.

“Fuck this stupid demon and his stupid rules…” you mutter under you breath while pacing around the room. A panicked Asmo and Mephisto close the door behind them and stare at you for a minute, both unsure of what to say.

“Uh….sorry about that?” Mephisto calls, carefully. “I think  _ maybe  _ we should have told him the party was in another place but…”

“This is RIDICULOUS! He’s treating me like a child!” you complain, loudly, still walking in circles.

“Aw, Tsuki, sorry,” says Asmo with a sad expression, “Lucifer seems to be sure you’ll end up fighting…”

“Can you blame him? I mean, we know Tsuki,” Mephisto says nonchalantly. 

“I’ll throw you both OUT!” you scream so loud your throat hurts and you end up coughing.

“Calm down, I’m sorry, okay?” Mephisto raises his arms in a peace gesture. 

“Well, this sucks, but we can’t go behind Lucifer's back right? ...Or can we?” Asmo thinks out loud, with a pensive expression. “If he finds out we’ll be dead, however…” he sighs.

“Honest, that mutant peacock can go fuck himself,” you murmur angrily. You aren’t the same as you were during the previous exchange program, now you can use magic and the pacts. The past months were spent tirelessly training magic, and you are way more powerful now. Even if you get into a fight, you can get out of it far easier now. Lucifer is being way too overprotective. “Do you have any idea, Asmo?”

“Actually, I have one!” Mephisto exclaims. He makes a signal to you and Asmo to come closer. Making a small circle in the middle of the room, he tells his plan. “You know my power is Illusion, right? Well, if we make a pact, you can make an illusion to trick Lucifer! We can sneak out and if he comes to check, a good illusion may fool him. What do you think, Tsutsu?”

“Interesting…” Looking down, you start to consider this plan. 

“That’s way better than my plan, Mephisto! Which was pretty much the same thing, but without the illusion part!” Asmo laughs.

“Do you think I’ll manage to make a good illusion right away?” you ask. Seems a bit too easy to be true.

“Absolutely! It’s not that hard if you just focus on using my power. You just have to recite an enchantment, really!” Mephisto assures you, smiling. “So, what will it be?” he asks, very excited. It doesn't even look like he fears Lucifer anymore.

“I don’t really feel like I need even more pacts but…Illusion is quite a nice power to have…” You think for a while longer, weighing the pros and cons. In the end, the anger and your strong wish to go to the party wins. “Let’s do it,” you speak with a strong will.

Mephisto chuckles and shows you his hand. You shake his hand, only to feel a sharp pain traveling your whole body coming from your hand. Cursing, you fall with your knees to the ground, seeing stars. In the same second, both Mephisto and Asmo are on your side, asking about what happened. If you had to guess… Taking a look at your palm, you see a pact mark.  _ ‘Of course, _ ’ you grunt. Mephisto’s pact mark is a small letter similar to an ‘A’ with an ‘S’ under, black with blue undertones.

“Memphis… I was not prepared for it…”

“Eh? But I thought you…” he pauses. “Sorry, I think I was too eager. Do you still feel pain?”

“Making pacts hurts them for a moment,” Asmo murmurs to Mephisto.

“Well, it was nothing compared to the time I got Lucifer’s pact mark…That is on the back of this  _ same hand _ ,” you realize as you speak. 

_ Oh Lord _ . The demons gasp at it. You flip your right hand back and forth to scan both marks. They are even in the same  _ position _ . What are the chances of Lucifer losing his shit over it? A heavy sigh escapes you. 

“Whatever, can’t do anything about it now. So, the spell?”

As always, straight to business. Mephisto teaches you the basics of the spell and you make a tentative first. It’s surprisingly easy to use Mephisto’s power. You wonder if it's because you are way more powerful with your magic now, or if the fact that you’re good friends helps. Kind of like Satan’s power was the first that you learned how to control better. 

After understanding the spell, Asmo and Mephisto leave the room. You wait until they send a message telling you it’s clear to leave. The spell has two parts: one consists of leaving a confusing effect on the door, so whoever comes nearby will forget why they came here. The second part is leaving an illusory ‘Tsuki’ sleeping on the bed. You have to say, the illusion is pretty damn real. Even Spencer, the friendly spider who lives above the shelf, congratulates you on it. Whispering a goodbye to Spencer, you leave by the window. Good thing your room is on the ground floor. 

For extra caution, you also use an invisibility spell around yourself to leave the House by the garden. There’s a decaying fence here that’s easy to jump over, way in the back of the garden. It leaves right into the creepy forest behind the house. But, Asmo and Mephisto are already here waiting for you, so it’s no big deal. After walking through part of the forest to avoid the front of the House of Lamentation, you three get a taxi.

When you get to the Halloween Zone, you can understand  _ exactly  _ why Lucifer didn't want you here. This part of the city is overflowing with nightclubs. They have huge signs in neon and are bursting with loud music. There are many demons in racy clothes walking around. Pretty sure the weird smoke in the air is all from drugs. The only thing that rivals the nightclubs are bars. There’s one on every street corner. And they are all crowded with demons either drinking or doing drugs. Is there even  _ illegal _ drugs here? Nothing ‘Halloween’ was seen, with the exception of some wandering ghosts. 

Part of you is regretting coming here already, though Asmo and Mephisto are excitedly talking about gossip when the taxi stops at the right place. It’s a really big and fancy looking mansion. It’s the most ‘fancy’ part of the Zone. The busy clubs and bars opened to a long street full of mansions that all look like they are from the Victorian era. Most houses, like this one, have a very gothic aesthetic with oppressive gates and fences, black walls and ghostly blue lights in the light posts. Before leaving the car, the three of you agree to not pick, start or participate in any fights and to leave as soon as one starts. 

The two demons don’t bat an eye at the ghosts and the being who is clearly a  _ zombie  _ walking in the garden. You walk carefully behind them.  _ ‘Maybe Lucifer was right. Is this man ALWAYS right?’ _

There's loud electronic music coming from inside the house. Colorful lights flash from the windows. At the entrance, Belial and Diaval are chatting. Upon seeing you three, they excitedly wave and come closer. Belial’s clothes are hilariously similar to yours: all black, full of spikes, and with torn parts. Their jacket has a skull stamp and— _ Oh My God _ —you need to know where they bought it. Belial and Diaval are definitely piercing buddies, because all of their faces are covered on piercings now. While Belial looks like a punk rock star, Diaval uses a large shirt with strong colors, sweatpants (also large on him), and a cap over his long straight hair. Belial has no pronoun pin today. 

“Yer late!” Belial screams in that crazy tone they have. “HAHAHA, but I knew you were coming!” They wink with a crowned smile. Before you can react, Belial attaches themself to your side, giving you a tight hug. “I love your style, sibling!”

_ ‘Sibling? Has anyone ever called me ‘sibling’ before?’ _

“I love your clothes too. Specially your jacket,” you say, trying to not think too much of this demon calling you ‘sibling’. While weird at first, somehow, it warms your heart. They need to let go of you though.

Belial’s smile gets bigger and they step away, showing the back of the jacket which has a huge skull with a red mohawk and bright and colorful punk elements.

“Oh my G—I love it!”

“I have quite a few jackets and shirts of his brand, can give you some old ones.”

“I’ll love you forever,” you say in a heartbeat.

“Buying my friend with punk clothes, tsk tsk,” Mephisto clicks his tongue in annoyance. Asmo laughs with Diaval by his side.

Belial, being the piece of shit they are, attaches again to your side.  _ 'Please, stop touching me…' _

“Jealousy has no place here and we are friends too, right Tsuki-chan?” Belial strongly declares.

“ _ Tsuki-chan _ ?” you repeat, confused. That’s the second time now. You aren't even that close. Do they get attached to people quickly or something?

“But I befriended them first,” Mephisto reminds them, hastily, causing Belial to laugh.

_ ‘Why does everybody want my attention…’ _

“Okay guys, let’s not fight so soon,” Diaval calmly puts himself between the other two, “we should just come inside and enjoy the party.”

“Hang on a sec, Val,” Belial raises their hand, “Mephistopheles, you can’t possibly be thinking these clothes are suitable,” and she points out at his clothes with a disgusted look.

“Hmpf, it’s been a while since you last called me by my name,” Mephisto simply states.

When the demon finally lets go of you, they immediately go argue with Mephisto until he changes his ‘boring’ clothes. In your opinion, they fit Mephisto well and you don’t think he should change. Unfortunately, Belial stresses him enough that Mephisto just changes his clothes with magic. While he maintains his pants and shoes, he changes to a simple black shirt and no coat. Belial says it’s better and everyone enters the house. 

Shockingly, it isn’t like the House of Lamentation. The house looks like any modern human world house, aside from some fancy, made of crystal chandeliers on the ceiling and a huge grand piano in a corner. Both the decor, the lights and the DJ station are extremely modern despite the old mansion aesthetic outside. Place’s huge, there’s a bar, a dance floor, even a small stage for a band to put on a show. It’s also crowded. 

Belial introduces you to the party planner (and house owner). He’s also a young looking demon, like your age, early twenties. In appearance only, definitely, and with a fashion style even worse than Satan’s. Dude has an open hawaiian shirt, orange shorts, blue sandals and a pair of bright yellow sunglasses. He seems cool, however. You aren‘t sure if they are even friends, he only says a couple words to Belial and tells everyone to enjoy his party.

First stop is at the bar, the demons all take a bunch of different and very colorful drinks. Since it would be a terrible idea to get drunk on weird demon drinks, you ask the barman for a drink without alcohol. He doesn’t even bat an eye and quickly hands you a sparkling blue drink with an orange slice decorating the glass. With the drinks, the small group moves around the place, looking for another room to sit. They are already having some small talk, but you can’t seem to jump into the conversation. This drink has a weird taste and you ditch it soon. You all settle on a bright pink couch in a dark room that looks like one of those neon illuminated nightclubs. When the conversation dies a little, you turn to speak to Belial.

“So, what are your pronouns today?”

“Fuck me if I knew!” they shrug, annoyed. “There are some days that nothing feels right. Already went through seven gender crises  _ only  _ this morning!” they complain, sighing deeply. “You have no idea  _ how long _ it took me to pick an outfit.”

“Understandable, I also had my fair share of gender crises.” It reminds you of several times you would end up in front of a mirror trying a bunch of different outfits and not liking a single one.  _ ‘Too feminine. Too masculine. This shirt does not match the pants so I can’t use them together, aaaaaa.’ _

The demon nods and you two end up on a rather long conversation about gender norms and presentation. Turns out you  _ do _ have a lot in common with Belial after all. A passion for the color black, the punk aesthetic and the desire to punch homophobes. Would be hilarious to invite Belial to your parents home and introduce them as your sibling. However Belial would  _ definitely  _ kill them in their first meet, differently from the demon brothers.

Everything is quite chill for a while, chatting with the demons. You kind of want to go dancing too. Every time you lose your distractions your mind reminds you that you shouldn't be here because if Lucifer finds out… Who knows what he will do this time… Damn anxiety, not giving you a minute to enjoy a party.

A demon passes by and waves at Belial, making them stop antagonizing Mephisto. Are they even friends? Belial keeps teasing Mephisto and he has no patience for their provocations. Diaval did say they are childhood friends. Belial stares at the guy walking away, then suddenly stands up.

“Girl. Definitely a girl today,” Belial declares, not even looking at the confused expression of her friends. You blink, and suddenly, the curves on her body are more accentuated and her chest has a clear breast silhouette. She's fast on that shapeshifter thing. “I’ll be right back~” she winks and leaves after the boy.

“Uh… She will definitely just  _ talk  _ to him, right?” you say, not sounding confident even to yourself. 

“Oh, you sweet summer child,” Asmo laughs to himself.

“Of course she’ll talk to him, for about five minutes before she beds him,” Mephisto shrugs, causing you to blush. “Ah, right, no sexual talk around you, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” you wave a hand dismissively.  _ ‘Should have stayed with my mouth shut.’  _

“Hey Asmo, isn’t that Kang and Hellga?” Asmo immediately looks to the side, where Diaval is pointing. The avatar of lust loses his smile and looks fixedly at a couple who is dancing and drinking with some other demons ahead. The guy is buff and looks kind of familiar. With some hard thinking, you think he may be part of the fangol team Beel plays in. The woman is gorgeous, long raven hair and a tight small black dress that leaves little to imagination. “Some time ago I heard them talking shit about you,” Diaval comments and takes a sip of his glass.

“Talked shit about me, hum…” Asmo murmurs. Suddenly, he stands too. “I’ll be right back.” He fakes a smile and leaves his glass behind. Odd.

While you are a bit confused by Asmo’s radical change in mood, the other two demons don’t seem to mind. Tapping Diaval’s shoulders, you ask who they are.

“Guy’s Kang, one of the aces from the Fangol team.” Oh so you  _ were  _ right to assume any buff demon who looks vaguely familiar is part of Beel’s team. “Woman’s Hellga, a popular model from Wicked, the biggest brand rival of Majolish. Kang and Asmo dated for a while.”

“Pretty sure he was the longest relationship Asmo had in his entire life,” comments Mephisto. 

“Now that you said it, I think so too,” Diaval thinks out loud, taping his chin with his index finger. “Anyway, for some reason Kang left Asmo for Hellga and they never talked again. How long ago was it again, Mephs? It was very recently.”

“Five years, I think.” So the demons consider five years ago to be ‘very recent’. “Some say Hellga was the one who seduced Kang. Others say Asmo was too clingy and pushed Kang away. Who knows, Asmo never opened up to me about it. He loves to gossip, but never about his intimacy or his family business. That's something I respect a lot, he has clear boundaries. Anyway, all I know is that it wasn’t a pleasant break up.”

Hum, interesting. While you know it’s true Asmo has several ex lovers, he never talks about any. And he went straight to talk to them. Looking at the demons, it seems like it’s not a very happy reunion. The model, Hellga, has an angry look on her face while Asmo, with his back to you, talks to Kang. The dude looks, at the very least, uncomfortable. 

Diaval leaves to get more drinks. Only you and Mephisto are on the couch now. He looks at you, bored. His neon blue hair has grown a little during the year you stayed away from the Devildom, and the long bangs have reached his shoulders. The colorful lights and the darkness of the place highlight his left blue eye while his right brown eye seems darker in contrast, making it hard to concentrate on his face. You either focus on one eye or the other. It’s distracting.

“You don’t really go out?” you say the first thing you can think off just to end that silence. He is staring so damn hard at you that you’re starting to feel anxious. If he wants to say something, he can just say it! 

“I have no friends.” He laughs at the end of his line, but it’s a sad one. “I…ah.” He looks down and sighs. You sit a bit closer and wait. “Listen, I got kind of a bad reputation between demons that I cannot get rid of. I ended up helping some humans centuries ago and it made some high end demon very angry. It also didn’t help that my own, very noble demon family, disinherited me four thousand years ago.”

“That’s terrible!” you exclaim, feeling bad for your friend. He’s such a cool guy, Mehisto doesn't deserve it. “Does  _ every _ demon  _ know  _ every demon?!”

“Not  _ everyone  _ knows everyone, but high ends are popular.” He stops and makes a face again. “And you wouldn't believe how unlucky I am, wherever I go, there’s always someone who recognizes me and comes to provoke or insult me.”

“Call me and I’ll fight them all for you.” Your serious words make Mephisto burst out laughing.

“Please, don’t, Lucifer will kill both you and me!” He cleans a tear from his blue eye. “But, thank you, really, it makes me happy to know you have my back.” Mephisto finally smiles. “I tend to avoid such busy parties because I always run into someone unpleasant, but since you were coming too… Well, I like hanging out with you, Tsuki.” Mephisto is looking all intense and puppy-like to you again. One of his hands finds yours and squeezes it. His hands are so warm. Brain.exe stops working for a moment while you blush. He can’t…possibly,  _ like  _ you  _ that  _ way, right? Like, him  _ too _ ? While you’re too busy wondering if he means it platonically or not, Mephisto gets a bit closer, until your noses are almost touching. Making the mistake to look at his eyes, you see they are glowing and his pupils are very dilated. “Hey, if you ever break up with Lucifer, do you think I have a chance?”

_ ‘OH FUCK, HE MEANS ROMANTICALLY. IT ESCALATED WAY TOO QUICKLY!’ _

You cough, astounded. Bringing your hands to yourself, you cover your burning face. Holy shit, does EVERY demon who _doesn't_ _hate_ you just _love_ you instead???? What do they even _see_ in you? There’s Mammon, Levi, Satan, Lucifer and now Mephisto. You could probably add Asmo and Beel to the mix too, however, you think the two of them like you more as a sibling. Belial is interested in you too. What the Hell. _What the Hell is going on with those demons?_

“Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” Mephisto pats your back. His voice is shaking a little, he must be worried.

“NO, I'M FINE!” For some reason (nervousness) you yell at him. Your friend’s eyebrows furrow in concern. “I—You—” Good Lord, what do you even  _ tell  _ him?! Nothing seems right. Mephisto looks  _ so  _ down already, the last thing you want is to break your best friend’s heart. “S-sure!” you burst off, trying to force a smile that comes off as forced, while afraid of making him miserable if you flat out turn him down.

Mephisto blinks.

“Sure?” he repeats. You nod frantically, hands never stopping from fidgeting with the fabric of your jacket. The jacket that Lucifer gave you on your birthday, you just remember. It’s a really cool jacket.

“I mean, I really like you too,” you try saying in a more calm tone while still panicking inside. 

It’s hard to see in the darkness of the room, but it seems like Mephisto blushed under those words. He keeps his intense stare, but when he opens his mouth to say something, it’s interrupted by an oblivious Diaval who arrives just in time. 

“Yo, I bought Bloody Demonus and Electric Swamp Coquetel for Tsuki,” Diaval announces with a goofy smile. 

He is offering the two glasses and you quickly take the yellow and green ugly coquetel and drink half of it in one go, just barely tasting it. It kind of tastes like mellow banana. When you finish drinking, you’re glad the red drink is the Bloody Demonus like you expected it to be. Can’t be drunk today at all, even if you really want to now. Which is probably a bad idea, because you never want to get drunk.

Mephisto ends up taking the Demonus and drinking right away too. Now, there’s a weird atmosphere. You must find another distraction! Maybe, ask Diaval something!

“Eh? Is he—”

Diaval starts speaking but his voice just vanishes. Curious and dying for a change of subject, you follow his stare and… Did Asmo just  _ slap  _ that woman?! There’s the sound of a crowd gasping and time seems to freeze. You are already standing when you see Asmo go full demon mode and  _ jump  _ on Hellga, who looks as pissed off as Beel when his food is eaten. Faster than what you could tell is possible, Diaval is already holding Asmo back. Kang and some other demons are holding a demonic looking Hellga. She looks like a swamp witch now: big nose and green skin, with scales similar to those of a crocodile and two big dark horns.

“Is he  _ insane?!” _ Mephisto yells beside you, “Did he forget we can’t start fights?!”

There must be a really good explanation for it, Asmo doesn't usually go for violence like this. Diaval exchanges some words with the other demons while effortlessly holding a struggling Asmo. He must be strong as Hell; Asmo may not fight normally, but he isn't in any way weak. After a minute, Diaval drags Asmo to the corner where you and Mephisto are. The other demons quickly scatter away too. Forced to sit down, the avatar of lust sighs and passes a hand on his face and hair, then he reverts back to human form. 

“Sorry,” he says after a pause. “That vile woman…!” Suddenly he stops and sighs again. “Nevermind.”

“You okay, Asmo?” you ask, sitting in front of him. 

“It's nothing, Tsuki.”

“It didn't look like nothing to me! What happened?” you insist. This isn't like Asmo. 

The demon grunts. Mephisto and Diaval are only staring at him, they must think you're better suited to speak to the avatar of lust. 

“That bitch stole my boyfriend!” Asmo yells now, hitting his fist on the sofa. It's rare to see him so angry. “Not satisfied, she even trashes my work and says awful things about me! And Kang has the  _ balls _ to stay on  _ her _ side!” Considering it's his girlfriend, it is expected of him to defend her, no matter how shitty it is for Asmo. “I really thought what we had was special!” he cries out loud, sobbing right after.

_ Ah _ . He loved the guy. It's clear the moment he stops taking and angrily rubs his eyes. It hurts to see Asmo in so much pain. Deep down, he only wants to be loved for who he is. Getting closer, you rub circles on his back.

“It's ok, you still have us. And your brothers. We all love you,” you softly speak to him. 

Asmo sobs and you're afraid he'll cry for real, but he takes a deep breath and rubs his eyes again. When he takes his hands off his face, he has a small smile and a softer expression. His magical makeup is barely blurred.

“Thank you Tsuki. Of course, I know how much I am loved!” But his mask is all broken and he doesn't sound confident. The demon stares at your serious expression for a moment and his smile drops. “Sorry.” Now you raise your eyes in surprise. “I think I need some fresh air. Take care of Tsuki for me, pretty please.”

Waving a hand, Asmo stands and simply leaves, despite your yells to him to stay. When you stand to go after Asmo, Diaval puts a hand on your shoulder.

“Don't worry, let me talk to him,” Diaval gives you a reassuring smile and goes after the lustful demon. 

Is that really a good idea? Are they even close? You look at Mephisto, searching for some help, but he looks as lost as you. Sitting back beside him, you sigh. Part of you wants to go after Asmo. He looked genuinely hurt and distressed.

“You shouldn't worry too much,” says Mephisto after a minute of hesitation. “Diaval is good at calming people. That's why he tags along so well with Belial; they are complete opposites that complement each other.”

“Hmm…” you make a low sound. Hopefully he can make Asmo feel better. You should be happy that someone else is handling the brother's problems, but, for some unholy reason, you aren't. There's only worry for Asmo inside of you. “I never saw Asmo like that, he doesn't show such negative emotions.”

“I know. But I guess sometimes it's fine to put what you're feeling out, you know?” Is he…talking about himself? About his sudden confession? Has he been in love with you for a long time?! Damn, now you really feel bad. You wish you could say something about it without being sure it will result in breaking Mephisto's heart. “But hey, if you are really worried, we can still go see him.”

That's right, you don't have to wait. Nodding, you and Mephisto leave the room. 

Walking around the busy part is hard. It seems like there are even more people now. You two walk through some rooms looking for the others, but don't find them. When you're back to the entrance, you decide to stop by a window to breathe some fresh air. All these people are starting to trigger your social anxiety and you suddenly feel like leaving. Afraid all those peoples are looking at you. That's when you see, in the garden, Asmo and Diaval sitting on the grass. Looks like they are only calmly talking. Mephisto catches them and asks if you still want to go see them, but you refuse. Seeing how Asmo looks calmer now, you let them be. Maybe if you walk in, you'll be disturbing whatever they are talking about. It doesn't  _ need _ to be you always helping the brothers anyway, that's true. 

The music stops, which makes all the chatting become very loud. Looking around, you see there's a band above that one stage you saw before. There's a guy by the drums, one fixing cables on his electric guitar and a woman tapping on a microphone. 

“Night,” she says into it and the chatting slows down. While she looks ferocious, with the dark makeup and body covered in tattoos, her voice is really soft and good to hear. “We are The Unruly and we are happy to play here today! Also, if our bass player can stop sucking a dick to come and play, that would be wonderful.” The whole crowd laughs. Is she being literal? Wouldn't put it past a demon. “Haha, this  _ isn't funny, B. _ Get your fucking ass here right now or we are starting without you.”

Once again the crowd laughs, though, to you, the singer sounded incredibly serious.

“She didn't tell me she was going to play,” Mephisto complains.

“Who?”

Instead of replying, Mephisto smiles at something and points to a side. Following his finger, you see someone running, then hear a loud streak of curses just before the band starts playing. Stepping on the stage, the demon rushes to plug her bass on a cable. WIth messed green hair and clothes and covered in sweat, stands Belial herself. She starts playing right away, looking a bit distraught. Did she  _ seriously  _ walk away from having sex with that dude to go on stage and play?! That demon really  _ is _ crazy. You're about to comment about it when the band starts playing a song, and you notice they are all very talented.

“Wow, she can play too. And very well,” you say, amazed. The band sound is really good. It’s heavy metal. Lucifer and Mammon would like to be here to appreciate their sound. 

Mephisto lets out a loud scornful laugh. Because of the loud heavy metal music, you have to get closer to Mehisto to listen to what he’s saying.

“Belial can play the guitar, electric and acoustic, violin and the bass. Can also sing very well, despite her annoying voice. Not only that, but she also knows a lot of sound based magic. Pretty sure she can play whatever instrument she wants too. Belial's so talented it makes powerful demons look average and average demons look bad.”

“I didn’t know Belial was all that special,” you have to say three times so Mephiso can hear. He nods once he finally hears you. “She honeslty looks like a lazy demon who doesnt give a fuck about anything.”

“But that’s exactly how she is,” Mephisto confirms, then brings you close to another window, further from the stage and the crowd so it’s a  _ little  _ better to talk. “Belial has always been like this, she’s a disgrace to her parents,” he tells you with a serious expression. “Never did what her parents wanted, as a noble and respected demon heir. She went fuck it all and always did only what she wanted. Many times Belial went behind her parents back to do things they disapproved of. She doesn't want a fancy noble life, she just wants to be herself, which was the only thing she couldn’t have in that house.”

“Like you?” 

The prankster looks taken aback at it. Mephisto goes still, without a reaction for a moment. When he blinks, he laughs softly.

“My, you are very perceptive,” he praises. “Pretty much,” Mehisto shrugs. “Funny that the one time Belial came  _ closer  _ to being stripped of her heirance was when he left her home with me after  _ I _ was disinherited. Her parents didn’t talk to her for  _ so _ long. Actually, we destroyed the relationships of our families, and after that, they didn’t stay close at all.”

“So, she  _ is _ your friend,” you smile and point out. They must have been always close to even leave their families behind together.

“Of course she is?” he tilts his head, confused.

“I think I misunderstood,” you admit, looking down, “I thought you two weren’t  _ that  _ close because she keeps teasing you and you don't seem to like it. So I didn't know what to think about her.”

“Ah, I don't mind, actually, I’m used to Belial’s way of showing affection.” He shrugs again, but instead of taking it lightly, he smiles at you. “Heh, thanks for having my back with Belial, but I swear we actually get along well,” he reassures with a pat on your shoulder. “To be honest, part of this mess is my fault, because  _ she  _ was jealous of  _ our  _ friendship. Then  _ she  _ started to make  _ me  _ jealous in retaliation.”

“ _ Oh _ .” Suddenly, everything makes sense… Belial was jealous…because  _ you  _ were  _ stealing  _ Mephisto from her. Holy Hell. Mephisto laughs at your concerned face. When asked if she actually likes you or if it’s only pretend, Mephisto guarantees Belial definitely likes you now. That’s good to know. It would be heartbreaking if she were only pretending the whole time. Belial is a bit extravagant, but she’s cool. 

In the end, you two stay by the window, eating snacks and enjoying the music. Belial also plays the part of back vocal. At some point, Mephisto stays telling stories of his and Belial’s young days. They both enjoy disappointing their parents as much as you. When they were born, their families wanted them to marry, something neither of them ever  _ considered _ . You laugh at the misadventures they passed; both of them are devious people. Mephisto didn’t tell any story about messing with humans, but they certainly pissed off a ton of demons during their lives. 

After a few songs, Asmo and Diaval are back to the party. Both of them decide to sit closer by and enjoy the show as well. Asmo looks a bit better, but he’s nowhere closer to his chatty self. No one comments about it. You go to sit next to him so he doesn't mope by himself. He’s eating just like Beel—you can confirm Asmo stress-eats when he's feeling down. Things keep pretty chill. To be honest, it’s a miracle this party isn’t as wild as you imagined. Lucifer was probably exaggerating, like always.

The band suddenly starts playing a very familiar tune. The singer says they are going to perform some songs from the human world now. You aren’t all that convinced it’s the song you are thinking of until she and Belial start singing.

_ “So here I stare _

_ At an empty bottle full of confidence _

_ Fuzzy faded with the poison in my head.” _

Holy shit, it’s really Forever Stuck on Our Youth from Set It Off! Maybe they could play even more songs from them later? Now you stand up and start jumping around excitedly between Mephisto and Asmo, who are looking confused and amused at you.

_ “I'm living fast until I'm dead _

_ It's in my head and seeing _

_ Because I'm on a permanent vacation _

_ We're young, we're young _

_ We're dumb and we don't care, no.” _

This song is so cool, and somehow it fits the hardcore style of the band perfectly.

_ “And I don't owe an explanation _

_ We're young, we're young _

_ We're dumb and we don't care, no _

_ Forever stuck in our youth _

_ Forever stuck in our youth.” _

As soon as the song ends and the crowd is clapping, you scream “THE HAUNTING!” so loudly the singer blinks and looks in your direction. Then she smiles and yells “Hell, yes!” before screaming the lyrics of The Haunting, also from Set It off.

_ “Come on in, boy; said the skeletons sitting by her closet door _

_ Dirty secrets, empty memories and broken hearts across the floor.” _

You actually didn't expect them to just play it like this. But can’t say you aren’t happy. Your excitement is contagious to the demons and they stand up to dance with you too.

_ “No one will love you like I did, will treat you like I did _

_ So go on, wear that scarlet letter _

_ No one will love you like I did, will touch you like I did _

_ So good luck finding something better.” _

After this, they even play N.M.E., which totally fits the band aesthetic and song. Sadly, after three more human songs, the show ends. Ah, just when it was getting really good. 

You sit back in the chairs feeling hot, skin full of sweat from dancing so much. This night is fun! Sneaking away from home was the right thing to do. Fuck that strict demon. He doesn’t know the meaning of ‘fun’. 

Diaval comments about Asmo not going away to talk to people and socialize. He actually takes a moment to respond. 

“I was waiting for the show to end to talk to Killgra,” he answers simply. When you ask, he says Killgra is the singer of the band. “Also, sometimes just staying with Tsuki and a couple of friends is enough for me.” Oh? Character development? From Asmo? That’s unexpected but good to see!

Against your own touching protocols, you go to hug Asmo. He gasps and yells excitedly, hugging you back. Ok, maybe you should have thought twice, he’s squeezing your torso…

“Tsuki is being so nice to me today! This makes me so happy!” And he kisses the top of your head. Yup, you’re totally getting a harem following you soon.

“Time’s up…” you murmur, trying to push him away, face burning with embarrassment. Asmo lets you go and apologises for his intense hug.

“Sup, bitches, what did I miss?” Belial appears again. She’s covered in sweat from head to toes, has wet hair and is a bit out of breath.

“Are you sure you shouldn’t be talking to whomever you were sucking off before?” Mephisto barely manages to say, giggling uncontrollably. He laughs even harder when Belial yells all offended like. “Ah, fuck, I keep forgetting we can’t about this stuff in front of Tsuki.” His expression gets serious as he realizes it. 

“I guess I’ll die,” you joke.

“Look at the bright side, even if you die, you are already in Hell!” Diaval jokes and laughs at his own joke. He’s right and it shouldn’t be fun.

“A-Anyway!” Belial yells again. She’s all flustered now. “I was already done before Killgra dragged me.”

“You deserved it, you are always late,” Diaval points out, serious now. 

“Well fuck, what great friends I have!” she complains and pouts.

The boys keep teasing her for a while, and she blushes and flusters even more. Looks like even she can be the butt of jokes at times. 

The singer, Killgra, makes a signal to Asmo and he excuses himself to go talk to her. Diaval also leaves to talk to some other friends who passed by waving at him, so only Mephisto, you and Belial stay.

“So, you liked my surprise?” Belial asks while drinking. “Every since I came back from the exchange program, I have been showing human world music to Killgra and the others so we can play some as well. I asked Mephisto about what bands you like!” she laughs, very proud of her plan.

“That’s why you asked me about what Tsuki liked to listen to? Could have just told me you're going to play.” Mephisto shakes his head scoldingly.

“Wait, I didn’t tell you?” the demon looks legitimately confused.

“You didn’t!” Belial gasps, shocked. “Honestly, so talented and so forgetful!” Mephisto sighs.

“But I never forget anything important,” she murmurs in a childish way.

“Well, I certainly liked the surprise!” you enter the conversation, since it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. “The band’s amazing and I had fun! Can I have some merch or tickets for the next show?”

Belial’s eyes shine with excitement. She jumps around and starts talking a mile a minute about her band. You’re used to Levi’s infodumping, so it doesn’t feel so bad. Belial promises free entrances for you to see the band and some leftover merchs she has in her room. You vibrate with excitement as much as she. You even ask if she needs more human world recommendations, and she accepts, which leads to more energetic conversations. Mephisto keeps quiet while watching the convo, but he doesn't seem bothered. He may even be happy that his best friends are getting along.

“ _ Mephistopheles? _ What are  _ you _ doing here?” 

The conversation ends in the same second. All the heads move to stare at a group of three demons. They all have smug expressions. Their intention is clear, they come to annoy Mephisto. They picked the wrong folks to anger.

“He’s here to make a show, of fucking course,” Belial answers before anyone else can speak.

“What?” Mephisto immediately turns to his friend with an alarmed expression.

“A show?” one of the demons mocks. “What kind of show?”

“Illusion, duh,” Belial answers as if it's obvious. “Mephs will wow everyone.”

“ _ Belial _ ,” Mephisto calls her out, but the shapeshifter only shrugs. However, she smiles a second later.

“Don’t you want to shut them?” And she turns to you, “Don’t you want to see his  _ sick  _ show?”

“ _ I do,”  _ you say without hesitation. 

Mephisto looks uncertain for another moment, but he sighs and walks to the guys. Without saying anything to his expecting crowd, Mephisto changes into his demon form. Now he wears a tuxedo, black and dark blue, with a bright blue bow tie that matches his blue hair; a top hat, decorated with many demonic poker cards; a long and slim tail, black with neon blue spots; curved dark horns that are half hidden by his big hat; and white gloves that contrast dramatically with the rest of the outfit. One of the cards on his hat is his pact mark, and should be his demon symbol as well. 

Begrudgingly, Mephisto takes several cards from his sleeve (literally) and makes them float in front of him and the demons.

“Pick a card.”

“Is he serious?” asks one of the demons, “the oldest trick in the world?”

“Pick a card,” Mephisto repeats, not annoyed or anything. In fact, there’s a smile forming in the corner of his eyes. 

One of the demons rolls his eyes and picks an ace of spades. Mephisto’s smile gets wider and you step closer, watching the scene intensely, full of curiosity. What is he planning? Can’t be ordinary. 

As soon as the card flips, a giant head of a red dragon appears out of thin air, growling loudly and with smoke coming off of its head. You step away in fright, right into Belial's chest. Even though you know it’s an illusion, it looks pretty damn real. Mephisto’s amazing. 

All the demons scream and one even falls with his ass on the ground. The dragon bites the screaming demon but instead of causing any damage it only disappears in a cloud of grey smoke. The demon is left shaking on the ground while Mephisto and Belial both let out a loud laugh. You are still stunned by the sheer  _ perfection  _ of the illusion. Now all the other demons in the party are staring at Mephisto. Their dumbfounded faces are hilarious.

“Are you entertained yet?” Mephisto asks with a big grin.

The demon stands up abruptly and grimaces. Only now his friends laugh behind him. Obviously, they say ‘no’. But the illusionist only chuckles and picks another card. Now everyone is on their toes, looking anxiously at him. Flipping the card, a massive purple snake that reminds you of Henry 1.0 slithers around Mephisto and he sits over it as if it’s a fancy chair with a smug expression. The snake hisses and looks imposingly at the demons. You let out a breath of amazement. Maybe that illusion of yours really can fool Lucifer after all. The evil demon isn’t here yet, which means he didn’t find out you escaped. 

“He’s amazing, right?” Belial whispers in your ear. After the snake vanishes, Mephisto makes a 100% realistic Diavolo who talks as much bullshit as the original one. A perfect copy.

“He is,” you sigh, enamored. 

“In the old days of the Devildom when everything was war for power, only physical strength and manipulation were the skills everyone wanted and admired. But even after all these years, those are still the preferred skills, which makes demons who specialize in any other type of magic be seen as less,” Belial explains in a whisper. Her tone is annoyed. “Mephs is so fucking talented, but his family never acknowledged him for being different. Which is kind of hilarious, considering my family still gives a fuck about me even after I spit on my father’s face and called him trash,” she says with disdain. “That’s what I get from being the sole heir.”

“Steal their wealth and give it to Memphis,” you say half jokingly, but Belial nods in agreement. “You know, I’m glad he has such a good friend like you!” you say, making Belial face you with slight surprise. It’s the truth, you mean every word. Mephisto always seemed so alone, it broke your heart when you had to leave him. He basically clinged to you during the previous exchange program, after you two became close. No wonder he was so alone, his best friend was gone for a full year. “Did you know he passed the whole night talking well of you, Belial? I am almost jealous! I wish I had siblings just like you or Memphis!” And the other way around is also true; at the first opportunity, Belial jumped to praise Mephisto.

This catches Belial so off guard that she has no reaction for a moment. Meanwhile, Mephisto makes a crowd clap to his skilled illusion of a ghost ball. The translucent spectres dance around the demons to the tune of a haunted song played by the DJ, who is also very invested in the show. When the fake ghost passes by you, you feel the same cold shiver as if it were a real ghost. 

When Belial recovers from her stunned state, she attacks you with a hug. The shapeshifter smells like sweat and sex, which is so, so gross. You want to push her away but you are temporarily immobilized by the demon’s strength. 

“We can be your siblings!” she cries out in your ear, making you whine at her loud voice. It goes straight to your heart and your eyes get watery. “Aw, you make me miss my human friends  _ so much! _ You’re such a cool fellow, Tsuki, I’m glad Mephs has a friend like you too.” Her voice starts to weigh with emotion as she buries her head in your neck. ...One more to the harem...

“Belial, I would hate to offend you, but I really don't like being touched all of a sudden,” you politely tell her.

“No problem!” she explains as she lets go of you in a hurry. Now you probably smell like her.

_ Holy shit _ , if Lucifer can smell these demons on you tomorrow the whole plan will have been for nothing! Asmo must have some really strong cologne or soap to wash all of the demons’ smell off, right? He better! And now the anxiety is back at full force. Your head is full of all the things Lucifer may do or say if he finds out. He won't be happy _ at all. _ The avatar of pride can’t find out.

Belial tilts her head curiously at you, thanks to your sudden silence and troubled expression. You almost missed the last grand illusion of Mephisto, a fireworks show. His name and symbol are spelled on the never fading fireworks. It’s so beautiful, you hate how your anxiety is distracting you from his magic. After this show is done, Mephisto bows politely and comes back to his friends. He stops and loses his smile upon seeing the state you're in.

“What’s wrong?” he carefully asks, stepping closer. “Did you say anything?”

“I didn’t!” Belial quickly defends herself, a note of panic in her voice. “Oh, I did hug them, sorry if it freaked you out, could have told me sooner,” she apologizes with a low voice, probably a bit embarrassed.

“Guys, please don’t fight, I’m alright, I only—” You turn to Mephisto to explain the situation to him, that it’s just you having a panic attack over nothing.

_ But  _ as you turn to him, you see a demon creeping behind Mephisto with something in hand. You don’t even stop to think, your body moves by itself and you shove Mephisto out of the way, getting hit with a cold liquid. (Thinking in retrospect, it was actually a  _ really bad idea _ , because it could have been acid or poison.)

Blinking, you can hear a choir of laughs, feel the smell of alcohol and the liquid dripping off of your body and clothes. The precious jacket Lucifer gave you is now dirty. That demon is laughing in front of you. Seeing red, your right hand closes in a tight fist and you move. You don’t even register the impact. The demon is sent flying to the other side of the room, hitting his back against a modernist painting and falling to the ground together with it. For a mere second, the whole place is silent; even the music stops. Everyone is looking either at you or at the demon. Then everything explodes in chaos.


	6. 100 Bad Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100 Bad Days by AJR  
> “A hundred bad days made a hundred good stories. A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties. Yeah, no, I ain't scared of you. No, I ain't scared of you no more.”
> 
> Uuuh, small TW for mentions of panic attack and dissociation! Nothing graphic/in detail.
> 
> The plot chikens~

**Chapter 6 – 100 Bad Days**

“I  **CANNOT** believe you!” Lucifer screams for the whole damn place to hear. While he, you, Asmo and Mephisto are all in the common room, it’s certain that the others are listening behind the door by now. Lucifer can be very loud when he wants to be. “Now you surpassed  _ ALL  _ your limits, Tsuki! I would have NEVER expected you to  _ defy  _ me like this again!” The demon throws his hands in the air in constant exasperation. “Leaving in the middle of the night, right after I forbade you to do so, putting a fucking illusion on your room, and  _ of fucking course _ , that dammed party ended up in a fight! Exactly as I told you!”

You should be feeling something like  _ awe  _ for managing to make Lucifer curse three times in a few seconds. Asmo and Mephisto have their heads down, all three of you kneeing on the ground while being scolded by the oldest demon. OF COURSE he was waiting at the front door when all of you came back home. Like a parent. A very angry parent. And he had already broken through the illusions because he’s  _ Lucifer _ , and he finds out  _ everything _ . He was ready to go after you when you walked through that portal right in front of the main door here he stood. Mephisto fucked up that portal badly. 

“I guess it’s a fucking MIRACLE you aren’t bleeding all over!” he continues.

“Uh, Lucifer…” Asmo calls, but is ignored. He’s covered in blood, but not his blood.

“I knew it, I just knew it. You are irreparable, insolent, irresponsible—”

“I am  _ not  _ irresponsible.” This you won’t let pass. 

“...Incorrigible, stubborn, _impossible_ ,” Lucifer continues. “What do you want? Is there something you want to prove? Was it pure spite? Do you want to see me _mad_ so much, human?” The only miracle here is how he is not in his demon form yet. He’s fuming, like, literally: there is smoke coming from his skin and his forehead diamond is visible.

You blink apathetically. A long time ago you decided to stop answering when called ‘human’.

“Lucifer…” Asmo tries again.

“You could have died!” the avatar of pride is still at it. He won’t stop talking any time soon unless someone manages to stop him. If only he let you speak… “Every time is the same damn thing! When are you going to learn?!  _ Every time _ , you say it’s the  _ last time _ you’ll fight, but it  _ never  _ is! What will it take for you to finally stop?!”

“LUCIFER!” Asmo stands up now in his demon form, to grab all of his attention. The older demon only turns his angry face at this brother. “ _ Please _ , let us explain!”

Lucifer stars murmuring a lot of things in demonic language. An older one, that you do not understand. Asmo bravely stands his ground.

“Fine! Tell me exactly what happened then, Asmodeus!” Lucifer throws his hands in the air again, now in a defeated way. You can also tell how angry he is solely by listening him call his brother by his full name. 

“Lucifer, it was Tsuki who started the fight—” An inhuman scream makes you deaf for a moment. For less than a second, you see the silhouette of something that is definitely NOT human as well, but your human brain cannot comprehend it. A chill washes over your body. In the blink of an eye, now the prideful demon is in his demon form. His wings flap angrily, leaving feathers all over the ground under his feet. What a great way of starting, Asmo… Lucifer trembles all over. You are sure the house is starting to shake. His raw demon power could very well tear this house apart.

Mephisto yelps and holds your arm. You are pretty much  _ petrified  _ by now. Only the pain in your stomach stops you from fainting. You feel like you are getting a heart attack any second now from how fast your heartbeat is.

But Asmo remains bravely quiet and mostly unbothered. 

“Will you let me speak now?” Asmo asks again. The demon only growls like an animal. A demonic animal consumed by rage. His eyes are glowing so violently red it might as well be blood and fire by now. Pretty sure his skin is starting to get red too. And a dark aura forms around Lucifer. “Like I was saying, some demons tried to prank Mephisto, but Tsuki saw it and protected him, so they got a glass of alcohol to the face. Tsuki got pissed and punched the demon, which started a big fight.”

“You should have seen Tsuki in action,” Mephisto says now, letting go some of his fear of Lucifer. “Three demons jumped at them right away and Tsuki fought all of them at the same time! A giant magic circle was under their feet and the pact marks on their body were glowing while they threw spells left and right. If I didn’t know Tsuki was a human, I would have thought they were a demon!” he explains, emphatic on every word. If you were less terrified, you would have thanked him. 

Well, they are both right. You never fought with such passion before. It was almost  _ scary  _ how easy it was to send demons away and conjure magic. For the whole five, maybe six minutes, it was really cool to use literally all the offensive magic you ever learned. Until Mephisto dragged you away to safety. 

“That's right!” Asmo yells, arms crossed. “Tsuki barely breaks a sweat while fighting. Unfortunately, when one of the demons crashed into the grand piano, the owner jumped on the fight with his friends and things got very ugly very fast. You know how much I can’t resist a good bloodlust, right, Lucifer?” he almost whines. Now Lucifer is petrified too; not even his wings are moving. His mouth is open, helping him look even more incredulous. “Of course I jumped at the fight!” says Asmo in a flourish. 

The avatar of lust used to be the least threatening demon in the House of Lamentation in your opinion. Now you aren’t so sure. He looked like a killing machine back at the party, stabbing everyone with two short knives. You still don’t know where they came from. Asmo used his wings as weapons too, blocking attacks, slicing with the sharp ends, and pushing enemies away. The way he fought made him look like a maniac: he bathed himself in the blood of his enemies while laughing hysterically about it. Belial wasn’t much different.

“When things got too ugly I took Tsuki out of the party,” says Mephisto, calmer now that Lucifer isn’t yelling and moving around. You remember being in such awe of Asmo’s and Belial’s manic fighting style that Mephisto dragged you by the arm outside. “Then Tsuki used the pack to bring Asmo along and we opened a portal back here. I think they may still be fighting. I’m sure Belial and Diaval will tell me everything tomorrow.”

Lucifer blinks. For a minute he’s silent and still. The fire in his eyes dies a little. Passing his eyes on everyone present, he stays silent for one more minute. Urg, you want to vomit from all this stress. Can he start yelling again?

“Unbelievable.” That's all he says.

“I am  _ fine _ ,” you force yourself to speak, body trembling. “Yes, I started the fight, but I didn’t get hurt, which was your worry, right? I can take care of myself, Lucifer. I’ve been learning magic non-stop for over a year, I know what I am capable of, so you don’t need to worry so much. Isn’t that enough to prove that I am not as fragile as you think?” Silence. Any second now, you are going to pass out from too much anxiety. “Are you still going to punish me?” your voice comes out low and timid, fearful even. 

You were right to be fearful, because Lucifer  _ snaps _ . He’s stomping on the ground again and his wings flap angrily in all directions. 

“YOU—!” He screams many things in another language that sounds both old and dead. Mephisto gasps at his words and Asmo brings a hand to his mouth in shock. Wow, what did he say? You are in serious trouble. Lucifer suddenly stops, takes a deep breath and approaches you. The demon stops right in front of you, leaving you feeling so small and weak. Scared, you hold tight on Mephisto’s arm. You wish you could pass out with sheer force of will. “Even if you didn’t get hurt, it doesn’t change the fact that you disobeyed me.”  _ Ah _ . “I am  _ so  _ angry I can’t even  _ think  _ of a punishment. I can’t think of anything!” he screams to your face, making you flinch. 

_ ‘Uh, can I pass out now?’ _ you think, having trouble breathing. Asmo murmurs ‘Lucifer can’t even talk’ which is ridiculously fitting. Another one of your feats: making Lucifer too angry to scold you. 

“Tomorrow morning, you better be prepared!” the avatar of pride shouts, pointing at you. “Better go saying goodfuckingbye to your freedom because you just  _ lost  _ it. I hope you have no more plans anytime soon, because you'll only be leaving this house for RAD starting tomorrow. And don't you  _ dare  _ ask me when this punishment ends,” he says in a sour note. You can only nod. “And the two of  _ you _ .” He turns to face Asmo and looks briefly to Mephisto, who yelps again. “Asmo, you’re locked too.” The avatar of Lust complains loudly but Lucifer growls at him and he quickly shuts up. “And you,  _ disappear  _ from my house now.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice. Mephisto hastily pulls himself from you. The illusionist waves for one second before rushing out the room, leaving you all alone on the floor. You stare at the open room door, where the other demons are peeking inside now. They all look worried as Hell. 

“It’s not his fault,” you say, getting this courage from God knows where. Your heart beats fast and you’re a sweating, trembling mess. You don’t know how you are even capable of speaking clearly. Lucifer’s angry eyes stare at you again. “You can punish me all you want, but leave my friends  _ out  _ of it.”

“Despite everything, you still think you can  _ ask  _ things of me?” he says in a tone so cold it doesn't even feel mocking. More like the stating of a fact.

“I am not asking. I am  _ telling  _ you: leave my friends out of it.”

Lucifer steps forward and takes you by the collar. The pressure added to your neck triggers strangulation trauma so hard you scream. A loud and sharp shriek of pain and fear. Lucifer lets you fall back to the ground in the same second and steps away. Taking your hands to your neck, you frantically tap the place there, worried about finding it torn open just like the previous time. Lucifer says something, or you  _ think  _ he says something. Unclear. Someone takes you in their arms, probably Asmo, that’s the last thing you can tell that happened. Everything happens too fast, you can't feel your body anymore or tell what your surroundings are as your vision closes and gets unfocused. You lose consciousness right after realizing something is very wrong. 

  
  


Next morning you wake up feeling like shit. Someone kindly cleaned you up after you passed out. Apparently you also vomited in the bathroom. Zero memories of it. Waking up to all the demons brothers camping in your room was weird, but when they started telling what happened after Lucifer’s mad fit, things just became more and more weird. Wow, a panic attack you can’t even remember? That’s new. On the good side, less trauma that will keep you awake at night. On the bad side, that sounds an awful lot like dissociation to you. Dissociation is one of the ways the mind copes with too much stress, like during a traumatic event. While symptoms may vary from person to person, losing consciousness and forgetting what happened right after a traumatic event kind of fits dissociation to you. Which is bad, very bad. The last thing you need now is to dissociate every time you get too panicked. Trying to not focus too much over this issue (so you don’t trigger a panic attack  _ again _ ), you change to the RAD uniform and go have breakfast. 

The breakfast table is silent and tense. Not even Beel has much appetite. When Lucifer comes, it gets worse. No one dares look at him. Especially not you. More disheartening silence follows.

“Tsuki,” the demon calmly calls, voice devoid of emotion. It sends a shiver through your body. “Give me your D.D.D.”

Feeling defeated, you cross the distance while looking at the ground the whole time and give him your phone. He taps on it for a while. Since you're not feeling hungry, you wait by his side.

“Your data is reduced,” he starts in the same cold tone, “and now you have a parental lock on your Akuzon account. You're also strictly forbidden from leaving the house to anywhere but RAD. And you’ll be helping me with my work. After class, you're meeting me in my office on the student council grounds. And I will walk you back home.” He gives you back the D.D.D. “The punishment end date is:  _ undetermined _ .”

_ ‘Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions!’ _ Getting the D.D.D., you accept your fate.  _ He's so pissed. _ It’s probably better to just wait until he calms down to talk.

Miserable, you walk back to your chair. Asmo gets two weeks of lockdown. And there's no more talking.

Belial and Diaval are fine after the fight. You meet both during break. They ask about what happened and you have to tell them how Lucifer found out everything. Mephisto also looks miserable. He blames himself. Then Belial starts blaming herself too. Then you do. The whole conversation is a mess, but you still guarantee that it was all  _ your _ fault. It's not like you didn't know Lucifer would react badly. You took the risk and it ended like that all because you couldn't hold yourself back from fighting. Damn, Lucifer really was right all along.  _ “I am sure this ‘party’ will end in a fight and you won’t turn down an opportunity to fight, I know you.” _ This hurts. He’s never wrong. 

The demon brothers check on you during the day, but they are all unsure of how to help. Lucifer scared everyone. Even though you still feel like an anxious mess, you tell them you're fine. Just have to do everything right until Lucifer tires out or you make up with him. Whatever comes first.

As expected, the avatar of pride isn't  _ talking _ to you. He gives orders like an army general and expects you to follow them perfectly. At one point, after only an hour of work, you excuse yourself to go 'to the bathroom', because you are dangerously close to snapping at him. Which would only make the punishment worse. 

Stepping away from Lucifer's office, you see Asmo ahead. He looks pensive, watching the gardens. You join him, sighing as you take in the scene of the grey grass and dull flowers. 

“So, how are things between you and Lucifer?” he asks after a small sigh of his own, not looking at you.

“How are things between you and Kang?” you hastily ask. Asmo pales and his shoulders drop. “I'm terribly sorry, I don't know what came over me!” you quickly apologize, regretting it. That was uncalled for. 

“It's okay, Tsuki, you're stressed,” he waves a hand, not making a big deal out of it. “I asked a stupid question.”

“No, really, I am sorry,” you apologize again. Just because you’re feeling bad doesn’t mean you can hurt others. “If you ever want to talk about it, I am all ears.”

“No, I think I opened well with Diaval yesterday,” he shakes his head. “You would think the most lascivious person you know would get over it easily, right?” he laughs. 

“No,” you say firmly, “I think a person who is very insecure deep down would have a hard time getting over someone they loved and thought loved them back.”

This shuts Asmo down. His eyes widen and he stays silent. A long time passes before he speaks again.

“Thanks, Tsuki. If you ever need someone to talk, you can talk to me,” he attempts to smile. “I just thought…I was over it, but apparently I am not.”

“It’s ok, Asmo, take your time to mourn, seems like you two were very close and dated a long time right? I mean, I am already mourning my own break up and it hasn't even happened yet!” you laugh sadly, feeling so pathetic.

“Lucifer won’t break up with you, Tsuki.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“He  _ won't _ ,” Asmo repeats more seriously. “Lucifer would have to be the most idiotic and crazy guy in the whole three Realms to break up with you.”

You laugh at his seriousness. While you are still fearing for it, Asmo’s words do make you feel a little better. And considering everyone you befriend just  _ happens  _ to love you as well, he may have a point. 

In the end, you two don’t talk much, both too deep into your own problems. Back to Lucifer's office, where more stress awaits you.

The next day, you’re so irritated. That awful demon reduced your phone data so much you have to pay really close attention until you hit the daily limit. And he follows you like a hawk. No, more like a really pissed off peacock. Back at home, he makes you do a lot of his (very boring) paperwork. When you complain about not having enough time to do homework he actually tells you to find a way to do it yourself. Like he doesn't even care. It is a really stressful day.

And the next morning, Diavolo wants a meeting. Something something about a cultural festival or what not. Something ‘the last time we had a massive monster run over and destroy the festival’, something ‘this year we want a simple, down to earth thing’ something. You honestly can't care less. You spend the whole time sleeping with your eyes open and cursing this crazy school. It has both college and middle to high school aspects, it’s a mess. Diavolo doesn’t actually know how a school works. More than likely, he just watched a bunch of teen dramas set in middle school, high school and college, and picked whatever he liked or understood from there to wing it.

“So, since we are in a disagreement about what the student council will be doing... Tsuki!” You angrily raise your eyes to the demon. Just hearing your name alone bothers you. “What is your suggestion for an activity for us to do?” 

Never once have you wanted so much to tell him to go fuck himself. You didn’t listen to a single word this whole time, you have no fucking clue what was even suggested. Levi waves a hand to you energetically. He’s smiling and spelling something to you, but you can’t quite catch it. 

It’s a school festival, right? 

“Maid Cafe.”

All the demons stare at you. Minus Levi, who vibrates and yells excitedly. His yells even hurt your ears. 

“Hahaha, interesting!” Diavolo says, smiling. Wait, what? “Alright, let’s do it!”

Now the place explodes with voices. Levi is the only one agreeing with Diavolo and encouraging him, and legitimately all the other demons are begging him to change his mind.

“Tsuki! Stop this madness!” Mammon comes to you to complain. Belphie is right behind him, backing him up. “We don’t want to dress up as anime maids or butlers!”

“Aw, that’s too bad,” you say sarcastically, feigning innocence. “ _ Then perish _ . _ ”  _ Their mouths hang open with shock and you wave at Diavolo, feeling like the evilest imp in existence. “It will be REALLY COOL to have some of the brothers dressed up as maids!”

Never once have you seen Diavolo smile so brightly. The demon is basically giving off an aura of happiness and excitement while the others lose their minds. Ok, now this meeting is interesting. You watch the chaos amusedly, until everyone agrees to Diavolo’s idea because, well, that is what they do. 

  
  


Just because that fucker (Lucifer) is controlling your life, doesn’t mean you can’t go find stuff to do in the free periods of RAD. First things first, you go find Solomon to ask about the story of the injured angel he helped. Turns out they were fighting demons in the human world. Solomon said they only visited once, to invite him to go to the Celestial Realm. But the angels got  _ a bit _ irritated with the sorcerer's thirst for knowledge and they sent him back. Very plausible.

Since the story wasn’t all that exciting, you go to the library. Now that you start to notice things, none of the books in RAD you checked so far comment on any other ‘layers’ of the Devildom. It  _ almost  _ feels intentional. But there’s a locked section in the library with old and exquisite books. Only the professors and some members of the student council have access. But guess who has illusory powers now? 

You probably should train first, with Mephisto, but it’s worth a shot to check it out first. If Diavolo didn’t have a sentient shadow (Barbatos), you could disguise as him and enter without problems. The safer bet would be as your history teacher. Now, does anyone stay in guard of the locked section or…?

“Can I help you?”

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!” 

SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, it's the evil butler!

Jumping and turning around, hugging your chest, you see Barbatos smiling at you right in front of the locked sections. FUCK, he knows. Thanks to his crazy power, he probably knows you’re up to no good, so why lie? Damn, no one wants you knowing more about the Devildom. You wonder why. It only fuels your curiosity even more.

“I apologize, it wasn’t my intention to startle you,” the demon says politely.

“I—uh… No worries…” you say, already fidgeting with your hands. This butler just  _ destroyed  _ your day. He’s the last person you want to see. 

“Is there anything you need?” Barbatos presses you, always smiling. 

Should you tell the truth? 

“I was just… Thinking of doing heavy research on the Devildom history and physical and magical laws, so I was wondering if one of the books of this place would be more in depth,” you say as calmly as you can. 

“Is it for a class?”

He is one hundred percent fucking with you. Probably knows everything and is only pressing you for fun. You resist the urge to roll your eyes.

“Not really,” you grit your teeth. “It is more for…personal reference.” 

“In that case, I can assure that any book already available to you will be enough,” he smiles and nods. It's like he’s saying ‘here, you can go now, human’. You can’t stop but smile. If the demon brothers were here, they would shit their pants; you only smile like this when very angry.

“Alright then, good to see you. Alone. So rare!”

“I just came here to return one of this section’s books for Lord Diavolo.”

“Right.” Pretending to believe him, you dash out of the library. 

  
  


It’s been four days. That demon is still ignoring you. 

As usual, he’s acting like some general, saying orders. There’s no amount of anxiety medication that can make you calm for half of a day. All of this stress is eating you alive, and sharing the same space as the demon is  _ painful _ .

Sitting on a chair in his office while Lucifer quickly taps on a laptop is like hearing boss music and expecting the boss to appear at any time. The boss is Lucifer, but he isn't moving (at you) so it’s nerve wracking. You actually feel sick. When will this suffering end? Well, yes, it’s your fault, you ran away to go to the party by your own free will. But damn, if anxiety could kill… Well, it can’t kill, but it stops you from eating since you’re so damn anxious you can’t ingest anything without feeling like throwing up. So it can at the very least make you seriously sick. 

“Lucifer,” you call, holding your stomach, slowly sliding down in the chair. Eyes are closed, trying not to focus on this feeling of imminent  _ death _ . The demon only hums, to show he is listening. “I’m not feeling very well,” you finally admit out loud. The other demons have been saying it for days now: ‘you’re not looking good, Tsuki’, ‘are you sick?’, ‘you should talk about it with Lucifer, Tsuki’. Well, now is finally time, because the worries that keep you awake at night and are stopping you from feeling hungry are too much to ignore and are  _ not  _ going away.

The tapping stops.

“Do you need anything?” His voice is calm, although distant.

“Can I like,” you stop, feeling a wave of nausea, “sit closer to you so we can talk? I mean, actual talking?”

“Of course.” You open an eye to see him nodding.

A bit reluctantly, you stand, feeling lightheaded immediately.  _ ‘Did I even eat today? Can’t remember.’ _

While you do bring a chair to sit next to him, something comes over you and you end up sitting on his lap. Lucifer only shifts to the side a little, giving you some space, but doesn't say anything. In fact, he even waits. You make yourself comfortable, relaxing against him. For a moment, nothing happens. 

“Can you work like this?” you decide to ask, not wanting to anger him any further.

“I can manage,” he simply says and goes back to his laptop. 

Only at RAD can you see Lucifer using a computer. He says it’s faster than paperwork, so he does most of the student council work on a laptop. In other words, the old man doesn’t like technology much. After a minute, Lucifer goes back to his work, tapping fast in what looks to be a Devildom version of an excel spreadsheet.

There are many things you want to say, but you really don’t know where to start. Probably by apologizing. Instead of cursing this suffering you should just admit it’s the consequences of your actions. You always knew Lucifer would have no mercy if he found out and you still went behind his back.

“You say you’re unwell?” Lucifer asks when he gets tired of waiting for you. “Is it another one of your human illnesses?” Although he doesn’t really understand most human sickness, he sounds worried. 

“Well, yes, it’s a  _ mental  _ sickness, Lucifer,” you explain, slowly. “My head is a problem, unfortunately.” A sigh leaves you. This stomach can’t possibly hurt any more. “I want to apologize.” The demon remains quiet and still, looking at you. “I have the feeling you aren’t bothered by the fight, but because I left the house.” 

“And you are right,” he nods, “I am still in awe that you had the  _ balls  _ to break a rule of mine after the last time it backfired in your face.” In saying this, there’s a flicker of an emotion on his face, as if he suddenly remembered something really painful. Lucifer turns away to mess on his computer for a second, but stops and sighs. “By the way.” He sounds a bit reluctant here. “I believe I scared you back in the common room, on that day. I would like to apologize for that.”

Oh right, you  _ kind  _ of remember when Lucifer grabbed you by the collar and you had a HUGE flashback of the day Belphie killed you, kicking off an immediate panic attack. Since you can barely remember, it hasn't been bothering you as much as other stuff, like when this punishment will finally end.

“You did scare me,” you agree, seeing the regret in his eyes. “Thanks for apologizing, but I can’t really remember it well, you and me both are lucky,” you have to admit. “Now, really, I just want to tell you I am really sorry for going out that day. I was angry at you and that fight was all my fault too, but I still wish you had more confidence in me. Legit nothing bad happened until that demon tried to prank Mephisto. And I didn’t get a single scratch from the fight, I can hold myself in fights now.”

After saying it all at once, you wait for a reaction. Lucifer keeps his serious stare on you for a moment. Then he turns away, back to his computer screen. 

“I am glad you’re regretting and reflecting over your actions,” he says, “but your punishment is nowhere near done. I’m still…” he pauses, unsure. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do with you,” he sighs tiredly.

Well, you tried. At least you told him you’re sorry and he knows you kind of regret it. Sighing, you decide to stop insisting on it. Relaxing against Lucifer’s body, you watch him work. Lucifer lazily wraps his hand around your waist to keep you in place, and you welcome the touching. 

Even with just one hand, the devil is fast. He clicks on numbers and fills the spreadsheets with next to no mistakes. After he’s done, he opens an email account and starts to mass send emails to the members of the council. Then you notice the attachments he’s adding to the emails. It’s all stuff for the maid cafe you and Levi suggested. But. Shouldn’t that be like team work? Not entirely convinced, you keep watching him send emails, until it becomes clear that he’s giving the members all the necessary info for the event.

“Wait a minute.” The demon stops working to look at you, startled. “Are you doing  _ other  _ people's work?!” While you didn’t mean to sound this hasty, now you are feeling a fire starting to burn inside of your core. 

“Well—”

“Oh Hell,  _ no _ ,” you cut him off as soon as he shows hesitation, “are you fucking serious? Do you do ALL the fucking council work?  _ Are you kidding me?!” _

It’s not like you are yelling (yet) but Lucifer visibly seems to shrink. He’s still not looking at you. His mouth opens and closes a few times, unsure. Is he ashamed of being found out? He should be. After a minute of you burning a hole through his thick skull, the demon clears his throat. 

“You see— if they do a half-assed job, I’ll just have to fix it later, and it’s more work for me.”

“SO YOU DO THEIR WORK INSTEAD?!” You can’t help it, an uncontrolled feeling of  _ rage  _ waves over you and you get off his lap, resisting the urge to scream so the whole council can hear. Both your hands close on fists while you pace around the office. “I can’t BELIEVE it!” you punch the air, “And I thought it was Diavolo who put too much on your plate, but it's YOU all along!” Now you kick a chair.  _ What the Hell!  _

“Hey, calm down,” Lucifer calls, more serious and firm now.

“ _ Calm down?! _ Do you  _ like  _ working like a  _ slave?!” _

“Of course not! I just do what I think is most efficient. And it’s more efficient if I handle the most important parts by myself.”

You legit feel like you’re going to  _ explode _ . Does he seriously not see the problem or what? You march to Lucifer’s table. Then you kick his table so hard all the things on it shake, including the demon, who didn’t expect it. He even raises his hands in shock before holding the table. 

“Let me tell you something: I fucking  _ hate  _ this perfectionism of yours.” Nothing is more unexpected than Lucifer’s sudden loss of his voice. He keeps on watching you, startled. “You mean to tell me it’s a lot more  _ efficient  _ to just bury yourself in meaningless, annoying and silly council work so you can ignore your problems and spend way less time with your family and  _ me?”  _ The hurt on your voice surprises even you, that wasn't purposeful but it makes the point come across easier. 

“No!” he suddenly yells. Now his expression starts to change to an angry one. “You’re wrong, don’t say it like I  _ like  _ this!”

“Then WHY THE FUCK do you LIVE like this?!”

_ Silence _ . Once he realises he has no argument, Lucifer stays quiet. 

“Fuck you,  _ I _ am handing it!” And you angrily turn around. 

“What— Wait! Tsuki! What do you mean? What are you going to do?” his voice  _ begs  _ you to stay and reconsider. 

“Imma FIX this shit and you WILL thank me later!” you warn before grabbing your backpack, “And  _ don’t follow me! _ ” you order before walking away and closing the door with a loud  _ bam _ .

Outside, you create a new group chat with all the demon brothers minus Lucifer and call the group chat “Go to Work”. Then you think again and add Diavolo too. You spend several minutes listing all the things wrong with Lucifer's work etiquette and, not satisfied, also send a three minutes long audio to vent all your frustrations. 

**[Go to Work (8)]**

**Satan**

_ Tsuki, please calm down, you'll end up having a heart attack like this! _

**Tsukishima**

_ WHO TOLD YOU I AM NOT HAVING A HEART ATTACK RIGHT NOW??? _

**Beelzebub**

_ D: _

_ Please Tsuki, stay well! _

_ Do you need anything? _

**Tsukishima**

_ PUNCH LUCIFER. HOW COULD I FORGET _

**Asmodeus**

_ Ok, we get it! Lucifer needs help!! Don't stress over it anymore! It's not good for your skin! _

**Belphegor**

_ Asmo… _

_ Fine, we'll be more serious about the Student council now. We'll even encourage the others right? _

**Beelzebub**

:Yes emoji:

**Satan**

:Yes emoji:

**Leviathan**

:Yes emoji:

_ Everything to help Tsuki!  _

_ And Lucifer too, I think. _

**Mammon**

_ Leave it to Mammon-sama to put the lazy bastards of the council to work! _ :Thumbs up:

**Diavolo**

_ I see, so that's why Lucifer always has so much work at the council.  _

_ I assure you I didn’t know about it, Tsuki. Well, I knew he would sometimes take more work for himself or fix others lacking work, but not to this extent. _

**Tsukishima**

_ >:((( _

:Angry wolf emoji:

_ Get your fucking shit together, Diavolo.  _

_ IS2G if this shit happens again or I hear you have been overworking Lucifer again, you'll have to face my wrath!!! _

**Diavolo**

:Cry emoji:

_ I promise you I'm taking action and it won't repeat. _

_ I'm not happy about Lucifer overworking himself either. _

The rest of the messages are a long series of variations of 'Holy shit! Tsuki lectured Diavolo too!' that you pay no mind. Walking around the student council grounds, you see a group of demons fooling around in a room. You recognize the one sitting lazily in the middle: a demon of short and lavender hair, very light purple eyes and a very beautiful physique called Astaroth. She’s another demon who would make Lucifer tear his hair out with the way their uniform is all messed up and she walks with her coat wide open. She lacks a tie as well, but has a pretty purple scarf on her neck. The only imperfection on Astaroth is a small scar on her left cheek.

Stopping close to the table, you stand there, staring at the demons. They kind of look familiar. Must be council members, this whole place is for them after all. The demons also stare at you, stopping their chatting. While you don’t know Astaroth that much, you heard she’s quite bossy and orders a bunch of demons around. That’s it then! This is the demon you have to win over.

“Good evening,” you say, trying to be polite. The demons grimace. 

“What’s you doing here alone, human?” asks Astaroth, already in an annoyed tone. That was fast, these demons either get offended by nothing or can endure several of your insults, no in-between.

“Fine, let’s discuss business, Astaroth. And my name is Tsuki.” Getting closer, you pick a chair to put a foot over, sloppily looking over the unoccupied demons. Something flickers in Astaroth’s eyes. She smiles, interested.

“You say business, you have my attention,” she points out, looking at you expectantly. Her very light purple eyes have slit pupils, like a snake. “Speak.”

“It has come to my attention that Lucifer does most of the whole student council work by himself.” She nods, unconcerned. “Right. And I want to change that.” Some of the demons arch their eyebrows. “I’ll be straight: I want y’all to stop wasting time and work seriously on the council too.”

There is a choir of disdain while the demons laugh. All but Astaroth, who is staring deeply at your soul.

“That’s quite the request,” she notices, not very happy. “Hmm, but I heard you’re a very interesting human.” She shows you a yellow smile. “The latest rumor is that you trashed the whole party Kygros set last weekend by starting a fight with five demons and effortlessly won against all of them.”

“That’s true,” you confirm immediately. Maybe if this reputation gets big enough, the normal student demons will stop pestering you. Astaroth's smile gets wider. 

“Maybe we can make a deal, then.”

“A deal?” you repeat.

“Even better! A bet. Think you can win over me, Tsuki?” the demon taunts.

“Absolutely.”

Her smile can’t get any bigger. Unless she also has a snake mouth. 

“Guys! What should we do to test Tsuki?” Astaroth asks the demons.

“Game! Game! Game!” chant two identical girls.

“Maybe you can bet that pretty ring of yours?” a fat demon tells you. 

Ring? You look at your right hand, at your silver ring with aquamarine stone in the middle, just in time to see it vanish from your finger. Panic starts inside of you. NO! That’s the ring Lucifer gave you last Christmas! He has a matching one and the only reason you have been using it today is because you caught sight of him using his ring as well. They CANNOT steal this ring from you! You must win it back. 

“Give me back my ring!” you bark to the fat demon. He laughs at your face.

“If you want your ring back, you have to win,” Astaroth says. Your angry eyes lock on the demon’s. “We do everything on the basis of betting and gambling here,” she explains. “If you win back your ring in our little game, we’ll listen to you.” And she even adds a wink.

For a second, you are so distraught you can’t think. You look at the demons, then back to the boss.

“What’s the catch? Rules?” you ask in a calmer manner, trying to be more rational again.

“Just one rule.” She raises her index finger. “You can only guess who has the ring once. Make it worth it.”

Damn, just one chance. Scanning her face, you start thinking. Then you look around. There are eight demons here. Any of them could have the ring. You didn’t see who got it, only the ring disappearing. Damn, they are smart. You look back at the fat guy. He shows two closed hands and laughs at you to pick one. 

“Where is it? Left or right?” he taunts you. 

You barely spare him a look of disdain. “Neither.”

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t have it,” you say with confidence.

“Damn… They are good,” he murmurs and unclenches his hands. 

Some of the demons woo you, some start taunting. In no time, all of them start asking who has the ring. But you don’t let yourself be tempted. You focus and try to be rational. Six demons, plus Astaroth. Could be any of them. What if they are passing the ring about with magic? What if  _ you  _ use magic to find the ring? There’s no rules, would they even call you a cheater if you use magic? Or is using magic the  _ only  _ way to win? Too many questions, too little time.

For some reason, having all of the six demons asking you where the ring is…is suspicious. Meeting Astaroth’s eyes again, you see she's calm and collected, watching you with great amusement. She isn’t taunting you like the others. Her body language is relaxed, and there's nothing in her hands. 

The ring doesn't  _ have _ to be in anyone's hand.

Another huge feeling of confidence comes over you and you match in the boss demon’s direction. She keeps her confident smile while staring. Then you burrow your hand in her clothes. Astaroth suddenly yells and grabs your hand, trying to twist it, but you use the strength from your pacts to stop her. Inside her coat pockets you feel what can only be the tiny round cold metal of a ring. Your hands close around the ring but Astaroth is not letting your hand go so easily. You wrestle for a short moment before she decides to let go, making you stumble backwards.

“HOW THE FUCK DID YOU KNOW?!” she bares her very white, sharp and thin teeth to you. Startled, you take another step back, massaging your aching wrist. Very quickly, you open your hand and take a look. It seems to be the right ring, so you close your hand.

“What…?” asks a dumbfounded demon.

“Did they use magic…?” wonders another. 

They would never believe you didn’t know yourself. All that you know is that you could tell Astaroth had it, but she didn’t look like the kind of person who would easily give in, so you took it by force. Still. What came over you with the confidence that it was hidden in her clothes is anyone’s guess. Maybe it was some wild and unexplored guessing magic. 

“I win,” you say with a racing heart, trying to sound unbothered.

“I—” Astaroth seems ready to jump at you, and you're scared she will go full demon mode, but, all of a sudden, she relaxes on her chair and smiles. “Yes, you did.” Many gasps can be heard coming from the demons at the table. “Very well, you proved yourself worthy, we’ll be working hard on the student council now.” 

“Wait! Astaroth, you're serious?!” the fat demon exclaims. 

“We have been slacking off for so long it has become boring,” Astaroth shrugs. “Besides, they won, even though I’m not sure how but,” her eyes meet yours again and she winks, “Tsuki seems  _ very  _ interesting, I would hate to stay on their bad side~”

You feel a shiver. This demon is bad news, isn’t she? Ah, well, at least you managed to make them go back to work! That's all that matters. 

Astaroth stands up and offers a hand to you. You stare at it for a moment, put your ring safety on your other hand and shake hers. The demon nods and goes back to her group of friends. You stay for a minute longer. The astounded demons stare at Astaroth telling them orders. In between her orders, she comments to not go after and bother you. Wow. You actually thank her before going. That was…surprisingly easy… You only hope you won’t regret messing with Astaroth. 


	7. Nobody Else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nobody Else by MONSTA X  
> “Why don’t you just tame me. I want you to love me like I do. (...) No nobody. Nothing compares to you.”

**Chapter 7 — Nobody Else**

“It happened again.” Beel stands in alert, smelling the hallway with utmost attention. Satan is next to him, scratching his chin.

“What happened again, Beel?” asks Lucifer, who just wants to go to his room, shower, and pass out in front of a mountain of documents. That damned human did something and they aren't speaking to him. The only reason he knows Tsuki is home is because he has called Mammon. 

“The spider smell, Lucifer! Demon spider pheromones, I can smell it again, just like last time.”

“Last time was right after that party, right?” Satan reminds him, and Beel nods. “We thought, since there was a fight, that some demon had left pheromones over either Tsuki, Asmo or Mephisto, so we didn't bat an eye. But Beel can swear he smelled it again just now.”

Beel continues to smell the air, like a guard dog on alert. Beel has the best sense of smell in this house, so Lucifer trusts his instincts completely. Out of curiosity, Lucifer steps closer to his younger brother and tries to smell the air too. It's very faint, almost disappearing, but he's sure he catches something.

“Hmm, this is indeed strange. Has anyone walked around today? Asmo?”

“No way!” Satan quickly shakes his head. “I have been keeping Asmo company ever since and he hasn't broken his punishment, Lucifer! I'm pretty sure everyone came home straight from RAD today.”

“Even so,” Beel crosses his arms, determined, “I smelled another demon here, twice, I am certain of it.”

“No one is saying you're wrong, Beel,” Lucifer calmly tells him. “This is definitely a cause of concern. Perhaps it's a small fry? Hiding somewhere?”

“I'm not pointing at anyone but...” Satan steps closer, voice low. “Didn't Mammon recently change our security system?”

_ “Mammon…” _ Lucifer mutters, already feeling a headache starting. “Alright, you two go find Mammon and tell him to contact the security company, I have a lot of work to do.”

“Aren't you worried, Lucifer?” asks Beel, his expression full of surprise.

“If someone is hiding here, at least they are smart enough to stay hidden. Besides, you two plus Mammon can handle it, right?”

“Right,” nods Satan.

“Leave it to us,” guarantees Beel.

Lucifer bids his farewell to his brothers and goes to his room.

Because he didn't call Tsuki for help last night, the human also didn't appear in his room. Being too worried, his job wasn't productive. He only sees Tsuki again the next morning, over breakfast. Everyone is eating or chatting like usual, until the human waves a hand in his direction, in the middle of the table.

“Let's make a deal, Lucifer!” They already sound annoyed, saying it as soon as their eyes meet, and making someone cough their breakfast in the process. “Demons like making deals, right?”

“What are your intentions?” the demon asks, both curious and worried.

“If your work in the council gets  _ any _ better, starting today, we are talking about the end of this punishment.”

He squints his eyes. Did they manage to do something  _ yesterday _ ? Quick and impressive, if so. The oldest looks around the table, to where all of his brothers are looking at him with big eyes, waiting.

“Afraid?” Tsuki calls out. 

“Never,” his pride answers for him. Now Lucifer has to go with it. “Very well, it's a deal,” he agrees. At that, Tsuki smiles. It's their  _ evil _ smile. Certainly, they planned something. And Lucifer will find out what.

The day started slow and boring. Luckily, the professors all like Lucifer so much they don’t mind if he spaces out, doesn't finish the tasks or flat out sleeps. Most of the time he prefers to do work in class, but today, he doesn’t even feel like doing that. He can’t stop wondering about what Tsuki is planning now. Ever since that human came back, crashing in the middle of a meeting with Solomon, everything has been out of his control. And Lucifer  _ hates _ when things are out of his control.

Unfortunately, his day only gets worse. At the council meeting after lunch, it is decided that the seven demon brothers and Tsuki are going to dress up and be the waiter staff of the maid cafe while the rest of the members take on the other work. Only Levi is thrilled by it. He takes the responsibility of making the outfits. But, at the very least, all the members seem to have done their homework.

Astaroth comes to talk to Lucifer after the meeting and hands him a huge folder with all the RAD culture festival details inside. He takes a look and becomes very surprised to see the amount of details and work put into it. It’s basically all that is needed, lacking only Levi's outfits. He whistles, impressed, looking carefully at each page. If only Astaroth could put this much effort into her uniform as well. Today she doesn't even have the coat! Unacceptable! She should get a warning for it. 

“That’s a very good job for once, Astaroth,” he says instead, ignoring her messy clothes in favor of complimenting her work.

“Heh, you should be thanking your little human, they came to me and my boys yesterday demanding help.”  _ ‘Of course’ _ , he thinks immediately. “They won over me in a game, can you believe it? So I had to listen to their little pleas.” So Tsuki talked to Astaroth and won against her? That explains some things, like this folder. But also, that stupid human has no idea who they decided to mess with; Astaroth is a bad loser. 

Something catches her eyes, because she smiles and winks at Lucifer. “So, you two, huh?” She makes an explicit gesture that makes Lucifer blush. 

“I have no idea of what you’re talking about,” Lucifer hastily says, giving his back to the demon. She cracks up a loud laugh.

“Oh, I think you  _ do _ , because Tsuki has the same ring~” she calls out, in a suggestive tone. Shit. Instinctively, Lucifer takes a look at the silver ring he has been wearing lately. He bought a matching pair for them last Christmas and using it makes him feel closer to his lover, in a way. “They were quite angry when we picked it to bet.”

“What?” he turns on his heels. “You did  _ what _ ?”

“Relax, they won the ring back~” she laughs. “I really don’t know  _ how _ , but they did. With some flawless logic or hidden magic that is escaping me... I wonder if they can win over me again…” There she goes, Astaroth will be bothering Tsuki soon. “Anyway, I’m a demon of my word and me and my boys will be helping now, so don’t shy away from releasing some of your mountains of work onto us! That small human can be pretty scary, right? I like them.” Laughing to herself, Astaroth waves a hand at Lucifer walking away. 

_ Unbelievable _ . The things Tsuki can achieve with one meeting… Maybe Lucifer underestimated them… No wonder Astaroth said Tsuki looked scary, they must have been determined to win the ring back. Good to know they still value it too, considering everything that happened between them.

He marches back to the classroom, anxious to meet Tsuki after class.

When it’s time, the human walks into his office right after Lucifer has turned on the computer to check his email. They sit heavily on the chair right in front of his table and cross their arms defiantly. Lucifer has a sudden flashback to the previous day. For a second he thinks Tsuki will break his desk in half. He really doesn't want to anger the human any longer; that’s enough fighting for another year. And they haven't been here a month.

“Astaroth came to give me some council work.” They only arch an eyebrow and wait. “I see you managed to convince them to work more seriously and I commend you on it—”

“ _ But? _ ” they quickly cut him off.

“...Making deals with demons is dangerous, Tsuki,” he finishes what he meant to say on a serious note. This human seems to have lost all the fear they once had.

“The Devildom  _ air  _ is dangerous to me, Lucifer.” Well, that’s true. “I thought you would finally get off your high horse and thank me.”

“Hmm,” he checks the email. Then the important files. But he remembers that Astaroth already handed him everything necessary for today. His work is done for the day, no? “I have to admit you act quickly and precisely.”

“Finally a compliment.” They cross their legs sloppily over the chair, a bored expression on their face. “Aren’t you going to admit you needed this help? Or are you simply going to pretend I didn’t do much?”

“You are an incredible help,” he says truthfully. “I am genuinely impressed and, of course, I am thankful you decided to take it so seriously.”

“I think you’re missing the point.” They shake their head, sighing dramatically. “The point is that you keep trying to bite more than what you can chew. And the way you keep trying to hold all this work yourself because it’s more ‘efficient’ really pisses me off!”

Lucifer remains quiet for a moment. He can see what they mean now. In fact, he can grasp that this is exactly what made them  _ so _ angry yesterday: the amount of work he has. It eats his free time and  _ that’s  _ the big issue here, how he doesn’t have time for this family. Sighing, Lucifer tries to organize his thoughts before talking again. 

“You are right.” Tsuki’s expression softens with shock. “I admit this help is more than needed and that I must slow down if I want to have time for you and my brothers.” The human continues to stare at him with no reaction. “What? Are you really that surprised?” he smirks. “I needed help and you brought me some, thank you.”

Tsuki almost falls from the chair. After a few seconds of sliding, they fix their posture and sit straight. 

“S-so,” they start, cleaning their throat out of their shock before continuing. “Since I made your work here easier, are we talking about the end of this nightmare?”

The demon grimaces at that. That’s another thing they need to fix, he is just unsure about how.

“I don’t know, do you deserve it?” he looks away and turns off his computer. Curses himself for not making a speech in advance.

“What?! You promised me we would discuss it!” they cry out.

“And this is what I intend to do: discuss,” he nods. “I don’t think you really regret it. More like, you only wish to find a way to get rid of the punishment.” 

Even though the demon thinks he’s being too harsh, and he himself would like to just end this whole thing, he doesn’t feel like Tsuki understands his grief. Not yet. Tsuki’s whole face starts to get red. Their hands close in fists over the armchair and they look ferocious.

_ “You _ , _ ” _ they bark, but suddenly go silent, pressing their lips together. “FINE!” They throw their hands in the air in a frustrated gesture. “You do have a point there, but I cannot get over how you still don’t trust me to go around unsupervised. And I wasn’t even alone!”

“It isn’t about trust,” he corrects them, trying his best to stay calm, “it’s about how you still can’t understand how I felt after knowing you left the house, breaking my rules once again.” Everything ended up ‘fine’ this time,  _ but what if it hadn’t?  _ “This is what is bothering me! You didn’t consider how it could affect  _ me!” _

“And  _ you  _ didn’t consider how  _ I _ felt when you forbade me from leaving!” Tsuki is screaming now. “You are right, _ I don't understand!” _ they stand up abruptly. “And I won’t understand until you explain to me!”

There’s a beat of silence, where they both just stare at each other's eyes. Lucifer is once again, at a loss of words. Tsuki is normally very intelligent and gets things faster than expected, but in this case, it feels like it’s Lucifer who has to break the ice and explain everything. The demon now sees what is taking them so long to figure things out this time: both are too deep in their own misery to see what is really troubling the other. Lucifer feels like he suddenly had an epiphany. Their communication is lacking because they are both failing to see what the other real issue is. 

But Tsuki isn’t with a lot of patience right now. They turn away, grab their backpack and open the door. Before they leave, they look back at the demon. 

“Just so you know: there’s no relationship that survives without dialogue.”

And the door closes with a loud  _ bam _ . Just before Tsuki leaves, Lucifer can see, for a second, the glimpse of tears in their eyes. The demon sighs, alone in his office. He fucked up again. After waiting a few minutes, he collects his stuff. 

Once again, his hesitation was not welcome. Looks like he didn’t learn his lesson after yesterday. But one thing is clear now: if he wants this whole situation to end, he has to be open with Tsuki. Ever since they became friends, then lovers, they already had a good dynamic. If their communication faltered, it was easily fixed. Not in this case it seems. He has to suck up his pride and get over his fear of showing vulnerability to make up with Tsuki. 

He drags his feet outside, thinking and plotting his speech. Three times the charm right? Tsuki said they don't understand what he means, so he has to be straight, and tell them what has been bothering him about it: he’s afraid someone will kill them again if he isn’t near. And they also broke that promise of never breaking his rules again, and that  _ hurts _ . Lucifer doesn’t think Tsuki fully understands how much it hurt him.

Once outside, Lucifer walks through the hallways of RAD. Going home so soon feels a bit unreal, but he has to find Tsuki and clean things up once and for all. It can’t stay like this, neither of them are happy. 

Coming in his direction is Mammon. He has a fierce look on his face.

“There you are!” He points at his brother, stopping him in the corridor.

“What’s wrong Mammon?” he asks, legitimately confused.

“What’s wrong?! You made Tsuki cry again, that’s what’s wrong!” he yells angrily. 

_ Shit _ . Lucifer feels a sting on his heart. He knew it, Tsuki did leave his office crying. Fuck. He needs to find Tsuki. Now.

“I—Sorry about it.” He has no words to excuse it. Mammon keeps glaring at him with a frown and Lucifer can’t feel more ashamed than what he already is. “I swear I am going to find Tsuki now to fix things. I promise. Did you see where they went, Mammon?” 

“Back to the house.” Mammon steps away, leaving the path clear. “I don’t think I need to point it out but, you have to stop making them feel like this. They looked seriously unhappy.”

“I know,” he sighs, “trust me, I know.”

Without another word, Lucifer leaves his brother behind. Ah, maybe he should buy a present on the way. To ease the beast. On the way to the house, he stops by a flower shop and buys the most expensive bouquet. A big bouquet of rainbow crystal roses, typical of the Devildom. Should he buy anything else? He walks faster on the street while trying to think. Don’t they like chocolates a lot? Yes, he also buys three whole boxes of chocolate. One has coffee flavor, two of their favorite foods in one. That will calm them down enough to talk.

Once inside the house, Lucifer curses not having that GPS on Tsuki’s D.D.D. anymore. At some point during the previous exchange program, he felt guilty for having it and never telling Tsuki (also how did that brilliant human never figure it out?!), so he deleted the thing. But there is another way now. Because Tsuki is kind of a very special human and the pacts they have with Lucifer and his brothers are very strong, Tsuki tends to, unintentionally, share their feelings between the pact with the demons. The demons started to notice it near the end of the exchange program, when they would get very stressed or sad all of a sudden. And their pacts would sting. In a meeting, they realised it was coming from Tsuki, who definitely didn’t know about such a thing. So, the brothers decided to keep it a secret and ‘block’ the feelings that come from the pact. Unless they are  _ clearly  _ coming from a life or death situation. Knowing Tsuki, they would just get sad and worried about making the demons feel their emotions. And by the Demon King, this kid has  _ a lot _ of feelings.

Lucifer lowers down his blocking of Tsuki’s pact just enough to be able to feel where they are. The first thing he feels is another painful sting to his heart. It makes him disoriented for a second. Then he can feel sorrow and a fraction of happiness. Happiness? Curiously, he follows the string of Tsuki’s magic. He finds himself wandering around the gardens of the House of Lamentation.

Tsuki is kneeling on the ground, close to the black rose bushes. Lucifer approaches slowly and blocks part of the pact again, before he passes out from the sheer volume of  _ feelings  _ that Tsuki has in that little body of theirs. Seems like they have something on their hand?

“Tsuki?” he calls, voice low, as carefully as he can.

The human yells, surprised, and turns their head to look at Lucifer. They stare at each other for a moment, Tsuki hiding whatever is in front of them. Their eyes are red and their face a bit swollen; they have been crying. All his fault.

“Are you okay? I came to talk. Actual talking,” he explains just like the human tends to speak. They don’t look thrilled. “What do you have?” He can’t hold his curiosity any longer, he must know what they are doing in the garden. Maybe it’s a magic circle to curse him.

“Oh.” They turn back and take a moment to stand. “Look at him, Lucifer! Isn’t he cute?!” And they excitedly show him a big Helltoad. Dripping brown mudslime and all. 

“Eh…” He stares at the toad's big moss-colored green eyes, the three asymmetrical horns spread on its head and the overall fat and mud covered amphibian. Even the short fingers of the animal are fat. The thing’s almost the size of a labrador puppy. Doesn’t matter where he looks, that thing is not cute. “V-very…” he forces himself to agree. 

“Mr. Frog has been listening to my sorrows.” He pats the…Mr. Frog? It has a  _ name _ ? “I know we only met for a few minutes but I already love him. Can I keep him, Lucifer? Please?” they hurriedly ask with an innocent and begging expression that makes Lucifer's heart hurt in his chest.

“Wh… No! You can’t!” he has to deny. What if that thing is poisonous? He takes another careful look. He knows a species of Helltoad is  _ very  _ poisonous, but he can’t recall the differences from the top of his head. 

“Ah…” Tsuki whines in the same second, looking down sadly.

That’s all he has been saying to them lately, right? No, no, no and no. His chest is still aching. They looked so much happier for a second and he destroyed it. 

“I mean—It’s a wild animal, it belongs in nature,” he quickly adds. That’s what a biologist sounds like, right?!

“Oh…I guess so.” They stare back at that dripping mudslime machine. Tsuki’s feet are starting to get covered in the Helltoad mud. Lucifer can’t even imagine the amount of dirt that thing would bring to the house. He better release it  _ far away _ from his house. And he still doesn't know if it’s poisonous or not. 

“If you want to have a frog, there are better options that do not secrete mudslime nonstop,” he comments. 

“R-really?” Their eyes shine again.

“Yes, you can have whatever pet you want as long as it is small, safe and doesn’t make too much dirt. And this is for you.” He shows the bouquet with a smile. They stare at it for a second.

“How much did this thing cost? It’s giant!”

“I don’t know, didn’t see the price. And it doesn't matter. And I also brought chocolates.”

“Chocolates?” Lucifer shows them the bag with the boxes of chocolate. They whistle. “Alright, I guess you won the chance to talk to me. Don’t make me regret it,” they warn, and the demon nods. “Ok, I guess you should get going then, Mr. Frog, it was nice to meet you,” they speak softly to the Helltoad, who  _ angrily  _ snaps its tongue in Lucifer's direction. He steps away just in time to avoid being whipped by the toad’s tongue. What in Hell’s name was that?!

Tsuki laughs wholeheartedly at that. So much that they have to put the Helltoad on the ground to hold their stomach while they laugh. Aw, they look so cute like this. The Helltoad, however… It turns its angry and  _ ugly  _ head back to Lucifer and snaps their tongue again. At him. What the fuck. Lucifer growls to the toad to get a hint. Their pupils narrow and it hops away in fear. Toad’s so fat it can’t even jump higher than ten centimeters. Tsuki keeps laughing for a while longer. They are covered in mud, laughing so much they are crying. They look a lot more lively like this. Lucifer resists the urge to ruffle their wild blond and purple hair.

“You look like a kid,” he says with fondness in his voice and a smile.

Tsuki looks at him while clearing their tears, and gives him a mischievous smile. Uh oh. Suddenly, the human dashes forward and Lucifer opens his arms in reflex. His lover gives him a tight hug…while cleaning all of the mud on their clothes on his pristine RAD uniform. Ah well, nothing he can't clear later. 

Satisfied, Tsuki steps away, giggling under their breath. Since they are close, Lucifer hands them the flowers. Their attentive eye travels through the flowers, and a hand feels the softness of a petal. 

“They are so pretty,” Tsuki comments, fixed on the roses. 

“Not as pretty as you,” Lucifer says, still with a glance lost on his lover. 

“Flattery means nothing to me.” But they are smiling. Getting the chocolate bag, Tsuki walks to a bench nearby and sits there. Putting the bouquet beside them, the human opens a chocolate box, but before eating one, they spend a few seconds insistently cleaning their right hand on a clean spot on their clothes. Until they give up and use magic to clean it. Then, they eat one of the chocolate bonbons. “What do you want to say?” they ask with disinterest. 

Lucifer walks closer and kneels by their side, making their eyes widen. 

“I'll explain why I was so angry,” he announces and waits until Tsuki nods. They keep eating the chocolates. “Tsuki, you remember what happened the last time you broke one of my rules?” The human pales and stops munching. “I know it's unpleasant to remember, it's painful for me too.” He can still remember that day vividly, their dead beaten body dripping blood on the floor. It still appears in his nightmares. As he explains, Lucifer holds one of their hands. It's cold and sweaty. “Therefore, it scares me. I am scared one day you'll break a rule and find yourself in so many problems that you'll get seriously injured again,” he admits. The sorrow and fear is clear in his words.

“But—”

“Let me finish, please,” he politely asks, and Tsuki closes their mouth. “I am not angry at the fight anymore. In fact, I have to compliment you for not getting hurt and fighting so well, good work. But, my main issue is how you promised me that you wouldn't break a rule again and I  _ trusted _ you. Demons are creatures of  _ word _ , we always keep our words. Well, at least most of us do…” he trails off for a moment, bitterly remembering a few  _ situations _ . “But then you go behind my back, make a very ingenious plan to make sure I  _ don't _ find out, and break the rule like it's nothing. And I am concerned, because it happened twice and it can just happen  _ again _ .”

Tsuki keeps a very serene expression while hearing everything Lucifer has to say.

“I think I understand now,” they say after his pause.

“You do? That's great,” he sighs, relieved it didn't fall on deaf ears. “I know you have been working hard. That you're stronger now. I'm really not trying to undervalue your progress. But I can't help but feel worried. If you get hurt again or die, I don't know…” his voice breaks, unable to continue.  _ 'I don't know how I can live without you.' _

Sensing Lucifer's agitation, Tsuki kneels too, wrapping their arms around the demon and rubbing their face on his arm. Lucifer sighs at the touch and hugs them back. For a moment they stay like this, finding comfort in each other's touch. Lucifer wonders if they can truly understand him now. If he made his feelings and his fears clear. He just wants to keep them safe. But if he makes Tsuki unhappy along the way, then it's not worth it. The prideful demon doesn't want to see their lover unhappy, only safe.

After what feels like a long time, Tsuki pulls back and sits on the ground beside Lucifer. They clean their eyes and sniffle. The demon didn't realize they were crying again, he was too overwhelmed by his own feelings and fears.

“Okay, I get it,” Tsuki starts speaking slowly. “You are afraid. And that's valid. But I…I don't know how to make you feel more at ease!” their voice raises. “I have already been training in magic and how to use the pacts for so long! What more will it take for you—?!” Their frustrations surface again and their voice cracks in the middle. Sensing another cry, the human looks down, hiding their face.

Ruffling their hair, the demon gets closer and whispers for them to breathe. Tsuki hiccups and sobs, before taking deep breaths to calm down. Lucifer waits, watching them carefully and rubbing circles on their back.

“I'm really sorry to tell you this, but I don't think I'll ever stop worrying.”

“Then we are at an impasse!” they yell, still trying to furiously clear the tears away.

“Listen, I just want to keep you safe. But I don't want to lock you away either. I really don't,” Lucifer admits with as much genuineness as he can. “Do you not fear me dying, Tsuki?”

“My only fear is you leaving me,” they murmur, looking at their own hands.

He chuckles. 

“That's impossible.” But the human doesn't look convinced. “We don't need to be at this impasse. You are smart too, certainly you are plotting something by now.”

Sniffing, they stop their sobs to look back at Lucifer.

“Let's make a deal then. I won't break this one.”

Hell have mercy, ever since they learned this word they keep using it! He sighs, tired but willing to listen.

“What's your suggestion?”

“You can't stop me from going anywhere as long as I have the company of someone, be they a demon, an angel or Solomon, and I promise I won't get injured if there's a fight again. I'll summon someone to help me, as you keep telling me to do.”

“Right,” he considers, “and if you break your word? Go out alone or get injured in a fight?”

They look away, holding tight on the bar of their shirt.

“I'll let you punish me in any way you want.”

This is certainly not what he wants. But he can’t keep being  _ this  _ overprotective forever. There’s no feasible way he can always accompany Tsuki. The avatar of pride also sees no other option. He thinks for a bit longer, but that's it. Lucifer has to trust again that Tsuki will keep loyal to their word. That's the only way to move forward, a shared effort.

“Very well, I agree,” the demon says reluctantly. “I am willing to trust you again as long as you keep your word this time. We have a deal, right?”

“We have a deal,” they weakly nod, still looking down. Their hands hold Lucifer's arm now, seeking his warmth. “I'm sorry for always making you worry.” They genuinely sound ashamed now.

Lucifer holds one of their hands and brings them closer to his body.

“I'm sorry for always hurting you like this.” He kisses the top of their head. “ _ Sorry _ . Seeing you unhappy and stressed because of me really hurts me too. I hope that's the last time it happens.”

“Impossible,” they deadpan.

“I know, but let me have hope for a second.” Tsuki snorts, burying their head on his chest as they giggle. “I love you.” He kisses their head again. “I love you, Tsuki, sorry for being so bad at opening up and converting my feelings to words.”

“You are the  _ worst _ ,” they complain, trying to sound annoyed but failing, laughing instead. “Get better at talking, apologising, acting and controlling your anger, you stupid demon. So overprotective, what a pain. I'm not five. Always making me feel bad. If you love me, stop making me have anxiety attacks.” And they keep complaining, diving further into his touch. It's okay for Lucifer, he deserves all the insults. “I really love you, Lucifer,” they confess, body tangled around his. They kiss his neck lovingly once they run out of insults.


	8. Kiss the Go-Goat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YO, LOOK AT THE NEW EXPLICIT TAG. WE START WITH THE SPICY TODAY!!!! 
> 
> Kiss The Go-goat by Ghost  
> “You’ve been playin’. Around with magic that is black. But all the powerful magical mysteries. Never give a single thing back. (...) It ain’t always there to please you (please you). But he’s the guy you wanna do. And you know that it takes two. Luckily, he wants to do you too.”

**Chapter 8 — Kiss the Go-Goat**

He thrust harder into his lover, moaning at the sensation around his dick.

“Aah…” Tsuki’s moans are starting to mix with their breaths. They are so flustered under the grinning demon. Tsuki's face is all red and sweaty, and a hand hangs loosely over their mouth. They have been biting their nails—or their fingers?—as an attempt to keep quiet. A vain one. Because with every deep thrust of Lucifer's, they moan loudly and close their eyes, to focus on the pleasure.

They haven't planned this, really. 

After their reconciliation, Tsuki and Lucifer went to his room, where they ate the chocolates and the flowers were put in a pretty vase. Then, the couple went to take a bath. His lover wanted to use his bathroom, for some reason. He didn't complain nor ask. During their shared bath, the make out session got a bit out of hand. Lucifer was dying to touch them again. His hands hungrily touched at every place on their body, yearning to feel their body under his fingertips. They ended up drying each other in a hurry and going straight to the bed. Where the make out not only continued but evolved to full intercourse. 

Lucifer's day was such a roller coaster. Things got worse before they got better. But everything ended fine and he has Tsuki where he likes most: under him. Their small but well defined body twitches slightly. He moves closer until he can kiss some tears out of their eyes.

“Feeling overwhelmed?” Lucifer asks, caring and kissing all the way to their very red ears. 

“A little…” they breathily answer. One hand goes to play with his raven hair. He purrs at the feeling. They are always so gentle. Lucifer doesn't deserve such a gentle soul. And Tsuki's soul is still very pretty, even corrupted by the demon pacts they collect. “Been a while…”

Afraid of it being too much for the human, the demon slows down on his pace. He keeps fervently kissing their skin until he reaches their neck. He then bites the skin near the collarbones. A short yell leaves Tsuki and they squirm thanks to the pain. While squirming, their inner walls put pressure on Lucifer's cock, giving him a lot of pleasure.

“You feel so good, Tsuki,” he whispers against their skin, then kisses the place he marked with his teeth. “I'm so close to cuming.” Another kiss. He thrusts on a sweet spot and Tsuki gasps, tightening around his dick again and pulling his hair in the process, making the demon growl. Two good feelings at once; he almost cums at that moment.

“Mhm…me too…” they say between breaths.

“Then let's cum together,” he smirks, excited, and his pace picks up. He can only barely hold himself together.

Tsuki’s moans are back immediately. Gripping at the bedsheets with both hands, they close their eyes and let their mouth open to scream Lucifer's name. And many curses. Lucifer wants to keep staring. They look so beautiful like this: face red, sweaty all over and out of breath; feeling so good they are trembling. But he has to close his eyes as he climaxes, emptying his seed deep inside of his lover, growling in satisfaction. Lucifer sees white for a second, high on his pleasure. When he opens his unfocused eyes again, he brings a hand that was previously holding Tsuki's thigh to rub at their sex, making them cum right away while moaning even louder. Their walls clench around Lucifer again, and the demon growls animalistically. He has to keep thrusting for a few more seconds, seeking his pleasure, still cuming inside. A loud moan escapes Lucifer too, once he's finished.

Keeping himself still for a moment, he can hear his and Tsuki's breaths. The human’s muscles are trembling with exhaustion and overstimulation. After one more moment, he pulls out, and Tsuki’s legs are dropped to the bed. The demon can see his cum dripping from their hole. He smirks in satisfaction before collapsing on the bed right next to Tsuki.

Brushing the hair off Tsuki’s face, Lucifer sees them blink away some tears. Tsuki snuggles closer to the demon’s touch, but they whine when they move. 

“How are you feeling, love?” says Lucifer, back to kissing their lover’s face, a hint of worry in his voice.

“Tired…. A bit sensitive. And gross,” Tsuki says after a moment, still trying to catch their breath. They look at themself with a frown. “Sex is gross.”

“But you like doing it with me, right?” the demon asks confidently, leaving even more butterfly kisses on their skin that make Tsuki giggle. 

“I  _ don’t,” _ they manage to say between laughing fits.

“Liar.” He's smiling again, pleased to hear their laughs and soft giggles. 

The sun will  _ freeze _ and Hell will be consumed by  _ flames _ on the day Tsuki does something they don't want to. If they truly disliked sex, Lucifer wouldn't be getting  _ any _ . It makes him happy to know he's the only one Tsuki trusts and wants enough to be doing this sort of thing with him. 

Lucifer missed it, their laughs, this intimacy. He buries his face on the curve of their neck and stays here, just breathing their smell. And discreetly leaving his smell all over them. Tsuki’s hands go to play with his wet hair again, the touch gentle and soothing. 

“I guess it's not the worst thing in the world,” Tsuki says, after a few minutes of silence. The demon chuckles at this statement.

“Then, I guess you’re not against another round,” he smirks. Honestly, the demon could go a few more rounds, but he knows humans don’t have the same stamina as demons.

“Eh,  _ no,” _ Tsuki quickly denies, pushing Lucifer away, making him laugh in the process.

“I  _ bet _ I can make you change your mind,” he keeps on smirking, looking at Tsuki. It would be impossible to fall in love even more with them. And if Lucifer knows them enough, he knows Tsuki will never pass on an opportunity to win over a demon. 

“I bet you  _ can’t,” _ they state, defiant. 

“Deal.”

Lucifer manages to get two more rounds. 

He’s awakened by a hit to his nose, followed by a hurried “Sorry!” Opening an eye, Lucifer sees Tsuki is already sitting on the bed. They inspect the love marks on their body, more specifically, one ugly bite mark near their collarbone. They are lightly massaging the skin there. His lover looks absolutely  _ stunning  _ while naked and covered in several purple love bites. Lucifer is feeling very proud of his work  what a jerk lmao .

“Did you  _ need  _ to leave so many marks?” Tsuki asks, already annoyed, it seems. Lucifer focuses on a pretty bruise close to their throat that will be hard to cover. 

“Like this, people will know you’re mine,” Lucifer groggily answers. He attempts to smirk with his sleepy face buried in his soft goose feather pillow. 

“I am not your property.”

The demon sighs.

“I’m well aware.” Did this human already wake on the wrong side of the bed? Lucifer burrows deep on his soft mattress. 

Instead of a hit, now Lucifer is shaken awake.

“Aren’t you going to take a bath?” Tsuki keeps shaking the demon by the shoulders. 

Lucifer murmurs a few profanities in demonic language. By Hell, he’s  _ tired _ , what is this human’s problem today?

“Go ahead,” Lucifer closes his eyes and gets more comfortable on the bed. Tsuki announces it’s past eleven in the morning. This explains the hurry then. When Tsuki leaves the bed, Lucifer remembers something. If his lover is already in a bad mood, he may as well make it worse. “Weren’t you going to tell me you made a pact with Mephistopheles?”

Tsuki freezes in their tracks. 

“Uh, no,” they murmur and slowly start walking in the bathroom’s direction. 

“No?” Lucifer presses. Now he’s annoyed. The demon saw that pact mark the day after the party but he never saw an opportunity to talk about it before, being either too angry or too tired for it.

“You already saw it, why should I tell you?” their tone gets harsher. 

“Because it is polite.” He wonders about it for a moment. “I suppose,” he says uncertainly. That’s not the point, he should just ask what he really wants to know. “If I had to guess, you made a pact with your friend to make those illusions to fool me, right?”

“Yes, that’s right, are you happy now?” Lucifer is hardly happy about it, but he has to commend how far this human goes to make sure their plans don’t fall apart. Now the human has yet another set of powers. Lucifer can't decide if it's a good or bad thing. 

Turning lazily in bed, Lucifer sees Tsuki waiting at the bathroom’s door. They seem impatient. Saying that's all, his lover goes to take a bath. 

The demon actually falls asleep. And once again, is violently shaken awake. This time however, Tsuki asks if he’s feeling well. Lucifer says he’s fine. He's only really tired, feeling like it’s the first time in a week that he can truly feel relaxed enough to sleep. The fact he could so easily fall asleep actually makes him shocked enough to stand. Tsuki demands him to shower fast so he can make them breakfast, complaining they are hungry. 

“What animal bit you today?” Lucifer asks in the verge of impatience. 

“You, asshole.”

There’s a beat of silence while Lucifer stares at Tsuki. Then they both start laughing. 

“Ok, that’s fair,” he chuckles and leaves for his shower. For another minute he can still hear Tsuki giggling non-stop.

Lucifer had half expected Tsuki to be gone when he left the shower, but the human had made the bed and was lying lazily in it with their D.D.D. in hand. They have put on new, clean clothes. Either they went to their room or summoned them with magic. Lucifer quickly puts on clean clothes, not wanting to let them wait any longer.

The house feels empty and the dining table is clean. The couple goes straight for the kitchen. Despite Tsuki having said they wanted Lucifer to cook, they cannot resist working in a kitchen and don’t hesitate to help him. Not that it took long; there were only some leftovers for them to eat. 

Sitting on the small kitchen table, they eat in a comfortable silence. Today there’s no RAD so Lucifer can focus on his neglected work. A true mountain of files and documents should be accumulated over his working desk… He isn’t thrilled to go to his study later. 

“We should have a date sometime,” the human says all of sudden. Lucifer moves in his seat, afraid he was thinking so loudly that Tsuki heard it. Can’t be the case, right? No way. He takes a peek at the human. They seem lost in thoughts. 

“I agree, as soon as I sort out my work I can separate a day only for the two of us,” he answers carefully, afraid of setting them off again.

Tsuki only nods, more focused on their bread. Lucifer waits maybe five seconds before opening his mouth again.

“So, are you or are you not angry at me?” Lucifer has the courage to ask, very carefully. He needs to be sure of things. 

“Uh?” They turn at him with a confused expression, “Wadda mean? I’m not angry.”

“You were, right after you woke up,” he reminds.

“Oh. I was just a bit upset at the bite marks,” they shrug. “It was nothing. I don’t want to fight again.” And they return to eat their egg filled bread.

_ ‘Then don’t irritate me by acting weird, human!’ _ is what he thinks about saying at first. “I see, good to know then. You got me worried for a second,” is what Lucifer says in the end, sounding very polite.

“Sorry.” They keep  _ not _ looking at him. They must be feeling ashamed or worried about earlier. 

“Don’t worry,” Lucifer waves a hand. He, secretly, lets out a sigh of relief and goes back to eating. In the back of his head, he tries to remember who is on cooking duty today. It can’t be him, but also, no one is here to work on lunch. Strange. “I don't want to fight anymore either,” he admits out loud, to not let his lover feel like the only one who thinks that way.

“I’m going to make sure to keep you happy now,” Tsuki winks with a smirk, but quickly loses their cool and ends up giggling with their hands on their face, hiding the blush that quickly colored their cheeks.

Lucifer laughs at their silly faces and giggles. Knowing things are fine between them makes his heart warm and lighter. It's like a heavy weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He wants to keep Tsuki happy too. It’s what he wants the most now. He takes a hand to playfully ruffle their hair. They try to knock it off, still giggling. 

A few minutes later, when they have almost finished eating the improvised breakfast, Belphie and Levi walk in. Both of them have their hair messed and look like they just woke up. The brothers stop by the table, Belphie grinning. 

“So, you two made up, right? Congratulations~”

“Huh? Is it that obvious?” Tsuki asks in confusion.

Levi jumps in place and walks away into the kitchen, not looking at anyone. One, two, three seconds passes while Tsuki stares confused at Belphie’s grin, until they finally get it. The human gasps and starts getting red. 

“P-pervert!” They scream at Belphie with their face completely red. 

“You have make up sex with my brother and  _ I  _ am the pervert?” Belphie annoyingly asks, causing Levi to almost drop his cup near the sink. Tsuki yells a lot of profanities at him and threatens to throw their cup at the slothful demon, so he walks away, apologizing. Lucifer just chuckles at the scene. It's really easy for the demons to pick up smells like those of sex. But Belphie really didn't need to anger his lover like that. 

“A-Anyway! Did you two just wake up too? Isn’t it late?” Tsuki frantically changes the subject. 

“Last night’s gaming was  _ so good!” _ Levi beams, sitting by the table with a cup of hot cocoa. “My team ranked Number One at the World chart! It was amazing,” he chuckles to himself, proudly. “Only went to sleep when it was almost morning. Man, it was such a good raid!” 

“And Beel kicked me until I woke,” sighs Belphie tiredly. Tsuki snorts. “He’s talking nonstop about the spider, Lucifer.” His expression shows he's already tired of it.

“Hmm, how did the spider deal go?” Lucifer asks, now remembering he didn’t pay it any attention before. 

“Wait, what spider?” Tsuki looks between the demons, very confused.

“Didn’t you know, Tsuki? Beel is convinced he smelled a spider in the house,” explains Levi.

“Spider? There's a spider in my room—”

“Oh no, Tsuki, not common spiders, we are talking about a  _ demon _ spider,” clarifies Levi. 

“Beel says that he smelled a demon spider inside the house and I trust him,” Belphie speaks again very seriously. “Mammon said the security company didn't detect any demon breaking in or any suspicious activity, but since Beel is so pressed they are sending a representative to the House today.”

“I see, I'm glad to hear everyone is taking care of it well,” nods Lucifer. Knowing how his brothers are handling this issue fills him with relief and calmness. They are being responsible and cooperative for once! He takes a sip from his coffee before continuing. “But I must say I will spend the day working in my study; I have a lot to do.”

“No problem, Lucifer, both Mammon and Beel will be here to assist the representative. I believe Satan is staying too,” says Belphie.

“Tsuki! Don't you want to go out shopping with me today?” All heads turn to Levi, not believing such words. “I need to buy the materials for the costumes!”

“For the cafe? Sure! Let's go,” Tsuki agrees with a smile. 

“Have fun you two,” smiles Lucifer. Now that the punishment is over, Tsuki is allowed to go out again. 

“Thanks but, uh, is the spider thing serious?” Tsuki's smile drops a little when they ask.

“Well, I guess we're about to find out,” Belphie shrugs.

“Do not worry, if there's any demon here, it's probably so weak that the security system didn't even notice,” reassures Lucifer. It’s what he believes too. “Belphie's right, focus on your shopping and when you're back we'll have the answers.”

“Hai!” nods Levi, too excited with his costume shopping to care.

Tsuki nods too and drops the subject. After that breakfast, Tsuki goes to get dressed so they can go out with Levi and Lucifer goes to his work. Belphie says he is simply going to sleep a little longer.

Unfortunately, Lucifer did not remember  _ he  _ was the one on cooking duty today and had to order takeout when Beel invaded his office, very, very hungry. 

**BONUS**

There’s a light knock on the door that wakes Lucifer up. He blinks, surprised and hitting the back of his chair. Seems like he dozed off for a bit there. Rubbing his eyes awake, he tells whoever it is to enter. He didn’t know what he expected when Tsuki entered. Punk clothes, black and purple, lots of metal accessories and torn pants. How long has it been…? Despite being curious, he doesn’t turn his face to look at a clock. Instead, he smiles, welcoming his lover in.

“Were you sleeping?”

“Of course, not!” he shakes his head, keeping his expression neutral. Tsuki has been a lot more observant lately. Either that or Lucifer is not as good as pretending as he once was. “I’m just exhausted because of the amount of work I have…” Realising what he said, now Lucifer half wants to make this giant pile of papers  _ disappear _ . It was not the first or last time Tsuki complained about his never-ending work, and they can snap at it again at any second.

“I see.” They say tersely as Lucifer frantically tries to clean his desk. Where’s his red pen? The one he likes best? Damn, he can’t find it, maybe it fell to the ground when he slept.

“Anyway, do you need anything, Tsuki?” he quickly asks, trying to hold on a fraction of composure. He still feels so disoriented. Hopefully they are not here to make his life harder.

“Beel told me you forgot it was your cooking duty day?”

“Embarrassing, isn’t it?” he laughs nervously, looking away. Lucifer feels like a mess. Never once had he wanted so much to just kick off all of his responsibilities to spend some quality time with his lover. Tsuki has changed him and they keep changing him. Hopefully for the best. At the moment, he isn't so sure. While he felt like not working a few times before, today the urge is stronger than normal. But he has to be responsible. “I suppose you’re here to ask about dinner? Just order something again, I don’t mind.” 

“I would love to eat sushi,” Tsuki comments, and Lucifer nods. Very well, he’ll be paying. “However.” He looks back at the human, alarmed, but Tsuki simply smiles. “I want to invite you to eat out today. With everyone. To sushi.”

“But…” he loses his voice and looks over his messy desk, not wanting to know how  _ he  _ looks right now. If he says he still has too much work to do, would they take it badly? This isn’t fear or anxiety that he is feeling, right?  _ Right? _

Tsuki walks through the study. Stopping right in front of the desk, they slam both hands over it. Some papers fall to the ground. A mischievous smile is on their face now. With the low collar shirt, Lucifer can see several of the hickeys he gave Tsuki. Staring at their skin, he wonders what happened for them to not be hiding it today. Weren’t they bothered by it this morning? This human is pretty crazy. Taking care of them can be  _ so _ tiresome. 

“Let’s go out for dinner,” they invite again, “You deserve the break.”

“I already took a break yesterday.”

“I’ll help you again,” they offer, slowly coming closer to the demon, behind the desk. Oh, they have fucked on this same desk a few times before. Why is he remembering it now? “You see, I was really feeling bad this past week, so I want to cheer up! And I was informed you were down too. Can’t be only  _ you _ taking care of me all the time, right?” He blinks, stunned. Tsuki laughs at his dumbfounded face and bends forward to lightly kiss his nose. Though he could barely feel the touch, Lucifer feels himself blush. “What I mean is: let  _ me  _ take care of you too! You dummy!” Their soft and breathy laughing is like music to his ears.

“Very well,” Lucifer stands without even thinking twice, “if the doctor thinks I need fresh air and dinner with family, then I’m not against it,” he smirks, trying to hold his contentment. Really, why does he feel so happy? Maybe the work can wait one more day. It isn’t like he was being very productive anyway.

“Do you  _ have  _ to form your sentence like this?” Lucifer sees the moment where Tsuki rolls their eyes. They take his hand and guide him away from his study. “Let’s go, the others are waiting.”

Smiling, he nods. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit smaller but worry not, the next one is worth 3 chapters with how long it is LOL


	9. Bob Dylan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is ridiculous long bcause I wanted to add many many things and I couldn't figure out a good enough point to split in two. Well, enjoy, is probably my favorite one!
> 
> TW: explicit violence.

**Chapter 9 — Bob Dylan**

“When they say,  **you and what army** ? I guess  **they're talking about you and me** . Baby, nobody will love you. Nobody will love you like-like I do.”

“So what fates do we share? Windows down, wind in your hair.  **Baby, no one ever thinks of you. No one ever thinks of you as much as I do. Not, not even you.** ”

Bob Dylan by Fall Out Boys

Shopping with Levi is fun. The avatar of envy shows you his drawings of the costumes. Lucifer, Mammon, Beel and Satan are getting butler outfits and Asmo, Levi and you, maid ones. Because the demons are resentful, they voted for you to wear maid clothes. You kind of expected it, since you voted for this event. Asmo volunteers to wear maid clothes and Levi wants to make one inspired by Ruri-chan. He may look excited now, but you know that when the day comes, his social anxiety will totally get in the way. 

You spend the whole day shopping, buying the fabrics and accessories for all the costumes. Levi is embarrassed to show your costume. He says he can change it if you dislike it. As it turns out, Levi thought a bit outside of your little box of interests. He wants to make a white and dark purple outfit with a night sky pattern, with small stars and moons. If he had let you decide beforehand, you would have just said either frogs or skulls, but his idea is very cool too. Agreeing, you pick your outfit fabric happily. 

Only late at night, after a stop to Cafe Lament to rest and eat, do you come back home. Levi goes straight to his room to work on sewing, leaving you by the entrance. He’s pretty strong to carry all of those bags by himself to his room so fast. Turning around, you see Mammon, Satan and Beel in the hallway. Beel is frowning in a corner and his brothers look unsure about what to do with him.

“So, the representative came?” you ask, stopping right beside Mammon.

“He did,” Mammon is sharing a knowing look with Satan, “passed a scan on the whole house, even at the secret passages. Nothing.”

“He found nothing?”

“Nothing,” repeats Satan, who now takes a look at the troubled Beel. “We showed them the whole house for an inspection, and we found nothing. Not even a trace. And Beel… He has been pretty unhappy. Care to try speaking to him?”

“We tried, but he has been stubborn,” Mammon shrugs, as if he’s giving up.

“Leave it to me.” You pass between the demons, waving at them, and walk until you’re right in front of Beel. His frown gets a bit softer when he catches sight of you. “Hey Beel, how are you doing?”

The gluttony demon looks away, half unhappy, half embarrassed. He hesitates for a moment, before looking back at you. Is conflicting, feeling happy that no demon spiders were found but at the same time bad about Beel’s mood.

“We didn’t find any demon…” he trails off for a few seconds. “I wonder if I was wrong all along….” 

“Don’t be so down! Maybe it already went away!” you smile, trying to show him some positivity, “The demon must have noticed it was caught by you and fled before it could be caught!” This makes the demon smile. You sure hope that was the case. A super spider demon who fools everyone sounds bad.

“You know, Tsuki, I was once one of the guards of the Gates of Heaven.” A surprised “Wow!” escapes you. “Yes,” he chuckles for a second, “but later I was assigned to be the head of Lucifer’s personal guard. So, I have always been prideful in the sense of being the watchdog of my family. I take it very seriously so I can protect everyone, including you. I can’t just let anything pass by me undetected.”

Ah, that makes a lot of sense. And he worries over you too.

“I understand now, it’s a really big deal for you, right?” Beel nods. “Well, like I said, you probably just scared it away! Lucifer was right when he said it was a weak demon. I’m sure it won’t come back to do any harm.”

“Thanks, Tsuki.” Beel is smiling more now. “I am still feeling a bit down that I couldn’t find the demon… But knowing it left is enough to make me relax now.”

“That's the spirit!” You pat him on the shoulder, since you can't reach his head. 

Beel finally leaves for his room and Satan and Mammon both come asking what you told him. You laugh and shrug. But in less than a minute Beel comes back, complaining Lucifer forgot it was his cooking duty day and there's no dinner. Oh well. Turning back to Satan and Mammon, you discuss what to do. After some arguing, you go fetch Lucifer so everyone can eat out. He’s probably buried in his paperwork anyway, begging to be saved but unable to admit it. And since his brothers told you he has been feeling down as long as you have this past week, you're determined to bring him along for dinner. 

  
  


“You’re not a  _ demon  _ spider, right?” 

_ “No.” _

Spencer walks a millimeter inside the magic circle you put him on. If only his voice weren’t always so monotone… Though the talks about a demon spider living inside the walls of the House of Lamentation ended yesterday, you still haven’t really talked about it with the sentient spider in your room. Or rather, you  _ did  _ comment on it, but the spider simply stayed silent like it was any other business. You cannot feel any magic coming from the spider and the magic circle has no reaction to it as well.

“I see. But have you seen or felt any demon spider here before?” Normally, you only talk and Spencer hears. Unless you actively ask a question, Spencer stays silent most of the time. 

_ “No.” _

Once again, a monotone and single word reply. 

“Ok, thanks for your time and sorry for the interrogation.” As you thought, it’s only a normal spider. Sometimes your paranoia is just too hard to ignore. You watch as the spider slowly walks around the table. “Want some help?” Putting an open hand close to the spider, you wait. Spencer looks at it for a moment, then decides to jump around until he’s in the middle of your palm. “To where?”

_ “Any wall works _ . _ ” _ If he weren’t so small—and a spider—you think Spencer would be shrugging.  _ “But you know, Tsuki _ — _ ” _ You stop as soon as you stand, eyes fixed on the arachnid.  _ “—not everyone can talk to me _ . _ ” _

“Meaning?”

_ “If you can talk to me, I think you could hear any demon spider walking around.” _

“You think so?” Reflecting over those words, you try to guess what Spencer is trying to say. It’s quite rare for the spider to start a conversation or say what’s on his mind. Spencer reminds you of your old therapist; both let you ramble for a long time about your day and your problems, without showing a hint of criticism or taking sides. Neither do they become annoyed with your small problems or how much you talk. “Like a special ability? Talking to animals?” That would be  _ so cool. _ “I wish there were more animals here in Devildom, I normally only see the stray cats Satan feeds regularly but I was never able to talk to them. And I wasn’t able to talk to any frogs I found either…” 

_ “I don’t know much about magic, but I can say not many people speak to  _ spiders. _ ” _

“Hmm…”

Unsure about how to interpret that, you walk to a nearby wall and let Spencer crawl there. At first, you thought it was  _ Spencer _ talking to you, but the spider seems to imply it’s the other way around; your power enables the communication. Interesting. Good thing you are already set on invading the locked session of the RAD library. There must be a book about Devildom spiders there to check as well. 

  
  


“Tsuki, I heard there was a demon spider in the House of Lamentation?”

“Seems like it,” you shrug, disinterested.

“Spider demons are dangerous!” Luke exclaims in his adorable way of showing dissatisfaction, showing small fists while trembling. “Me and Asher recently did a study on them. They are cunning demons that set traps to fool and harm people before attacking them! It’s also said they are bad omens who bring unluckiness and discord,” Luke explains, barely taking a moment to breathe.

You nod to everything he says, now suddenly remembering when Diavolo gave you a spider brooch. Now you like the brooch even less.

“It was weak and fled before we could catch it.” Well, at least that’s what you think happened. “By the way, who told you that?” It's only Monday, lunch break. How did the news travel so fast?

“Mammon!” calls Asher with a smile. Of course…

Today you are eating lunch with the angels. You feel like everything went back to normal already. Well, aside from when Astaroth stopped you in the hallway and demanded you play a game with her. Some weird guessing game that you ended up winning. She declared herself your rival and said she’ll defeat you in the next game. Whatever that means.

“So the spiders are always bad news, hmm?” You honestly should have sold that awful spider brooch back in the human world.

“Spiders are also a symbol of knowledge and power,” answers Asher. “In fact, there’s a very powerful family in the Devildom whose symbol is the Fire Hell Spider. Legend says it was the first Hell Spider, a powerful entity who gave birth to all spiders and is constantly associated as being a deity of balance. Why balance? Because spiders are very important in keeping the insect populations under control and are food for birds and other animals.” Asher is very excited about their explanation and you welcome the biology talk, nodding at his words. 

“Wait, so there are no more Fire Hell Spiders?”

“For some unknown reason, nope,” Asher shrugs. “That’s why it’s considered a divine creature, here in the Devildom.” Luke furiously nods to every word. 

“Asher and Luke sure take their homework seriously, right?” Simeon comments. Seems like he’s feeling forgotten. “But that’s a good thing.”

“We have to show those demons that we are very competent too!” says Luke with determination. Asher laughs and nods along. 

At least someone is fired up about school work. RAD is the only part of the Devildom you truly dread. But at least to the angels this is fun. Going back home, you are burning that spider brooch Diavolo gave you as a birthday present until it becomes melted metal and stones. 

Next day, you meet Mephisto after class in an empty place near the gardens. He has been so relieved that you and Lucifer made up. The demon swears he thought Lucifer would kill him. You would never let Lucifer kill your best friend, the avatar of pride would have to kill you first. Flashbacks to the Underworld tomb now float inside your head, but you try to ignore it.

“So, what’s so important that you can’t just text me?” Mephisto’s voice snaps you back to reality.

“I want you to teach me how I can disguise myself as the history professor,” you explain all at once, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

Mephisto scans your face, frowning.

“Can I ask why…?”

You hesitate for a moment, thinking twice before being honest with him.

“I need to enter the locked section of the library.” 

“Why?”

“Damn, Mephistopheles, I thought you were my friend!” you explode at him, but still keep your voice low. Mephisto keeps staring at you worriedly and slightly surprised. “Alright, I want to see if any book there talks about the other layers of the Devildom since no one ever talks to me about it!”

“The other layers? Why wouldn’t they…  _ Oh.”  _ While he looks confused for a moment, Mephisto's face quickly lights up with understanding. 

“You know, if you just tell me about it I wouldn't need to break in the library,” you wink suggestively.

“Eww, if the others don’t want to tell you, then I won’t either. I hate confrontation, Tsuki.”

You were going to tell him to stop being a coward, but you think again and decide against it. There are other ways to convince him.

“Ok, just teach me how to use your cool illusory powers so I can get what I want in the library and no one will suspect you!” you offer, trying to be as convincing as possible.

“Did you say library?” You almost curse out loud. Solomon is right behind you, with that easygoing smile of his. “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

“You already interrupted,” you deadpan. 

“Wow, rude Tsuki is being rude,” he laughs and you can’t tell if you actually managed to offend him this time or not. “I guess I should get going then.”  _ You did offend him _ . There’s a first for everything in this land.

“Wait, Solomon.” You stop and gesture to him to come closer, thinking again. Maybe his interruption can be a good thing. “Do you know anything about the other layers of the Devildom?”

“You mean the other layers of  _ Hell?” _ Solomon wonders out loud, and you nod. “I know a bit, mostly from books I read in the human world. There are seven layers of Hell, and they are like different realities in the same time and space. Not very different from the differences of the three realms, but the veil that keeps them apart is thinner, I suppose?” He explains slowly and with his voice low. “The Devildom is the first layer. I noticed the demons never talk about them, right? I wonder if it’s to keep a false sense of similarity to the human realm.”

“That makes sense!” You feel like you’re hit with an epiphany. Of course! Diavolo would like for the humans to only see these best parts of the Devildom! “Do you know what exists on the other layers, Solomon?” You get close enough to whisper to him.

“Monsters and feral demons, or so I heard,” he answers, still very serious. His trademark smile long since vanished with the seriousness of the conversation. “Supposedly one of the layers is the place where they punish the souls of the sinners?”

Stopping to think for a moment, you hear Mephisto sigh loudly. You almost forgot he was still here. 

“Pretty much it, the wizard is right,” Mephisto comments, also stepping closer to whisper. “There’s nothing exciting going on down there. And certainly, the other layers are  _ not  _ a place for humans to be,” he says empathically, crossing his arms and squinting his eyes at you. “So, you still want to keep with your plan to invade the locked archives?”

“Oh, so that’s why you were talking about the library!” Solomon’s face lightens. “Can I go too?” he nudges you, excited. “I'm sure there are a lot of interesting books there!” He honestly looks like an overexcited puppy. 

“I’m afraid of bringing you along and just losing you there forever,” you deadpan, making Solomon laugh. However, the wizard does say this is a possibility. “Listen, Memphis, I’m just curious and it sounds interesting to know what the Devildom is really like. Aren’t you a fan of collecting information too?”

“Damn, I was hoping you wouldn’t use that card against me…” He scratches the back of his head, unsure. “Fine, I’ll teach you the illusions spell you’ll need, but I know nothing about any library raid,” he states with resolution.

“Fine by me, I would hate to involve you in another one of my schemes anyway.”

“So, you’ll bring me together too?” Solomon nudges you again. He can barely contain his joy over being able to access the locked section. 

“Only if you promise to share the guilt if we are found and don’t lose time once we get inside,” you say with a lot of severity.

“We have a deal,” Solomon agrees and leaves you to train with Mephisto. 

  
  


Potions class is a drag. But at least you manage to do something cool. Belphie has been sleeping in his chair ever since  _ his  _ class ended and he just stayed there. Sleeping soundly. The professors and students all ignored him and moved on with their lives. Midway through the boring class, you make a small Growing Plants potion with some leftover components you had. To test this wonderful thing, you drop a bit over Belphie. Immediately, a small and very green plant grows from part of his head. You can barely contain the laughing fit that comes over you. Still not content, you drop a bit more. A mushroom and another green plant grows out of his hair again. Using your backpack as a pillow, you try to muffle the sounds of your laugh. Every time you look at him, you have another laughing fit. And he keeps sleeping!

When the class ends, Belphie finally wakes. He talks to you and the others normally, but a bit lost. Everyone is making an effort not to point it out. Simeon has to close Luke’s mouth before he could tell the demon about his new hair. Walking beside them, you wonder how long it will take for Belphie to notice. Probably Beel will point it out to him. 

_ “Tsukishima!” _

Oh no… You freeze right in your tracks.  _ Her again… _

As it turns out, Astaroth is a greed demon of gambling who hates losing as much as Levi. She is basically a mix of Mammon and Levi with their  _ worst  _ traits combined. She constantly stops you in the corridors of RAD to ask for a ‘rematch’. And, for some unknown reason, you keep  _ winning  _ her silly games. 

“Skull or bones?” she asks, playing with a grimm coin on her hand and smiling confidently.

You sigh. 

“Really? That’s your new idea? Flip a coin?”

“I bet you can’t win three times before me!” she says with a confident smile. 

Maybe, just maybe, you can actually lose now and she will leave you in peace. It’s all luck based, and you have no luck.

“Fine.” You roll your eyes and tell the group to wait a minute for you. “Skull.”

Astaroth flips the coin. It’s skull, and you grimace. Then she wins, then you.  _ And again. _

“Skull. Or. Bones?” Astaroth asks very seriously. You both have two wins each. Now it's the last flip of the coin. Why does this keep happening? Who knew it was so hard to lose on purpose?

Unsure, you look at Solomon and ask him to pick one for you. Maybe if someone else picks, you’ll lose. Worth a shot. The sorcerer doesn't make a big deal of it and picks bones.

“Bones,” you pick, praying it is skulls so this demon can stop with this bullshit.

Astaroth flips the coin. She even makes a second of suspense before seeing the result. Cursing loudly, the demon shows you the coin: bones.

“Wow, you have some mad luck against this demon, Tsuki!” Asher comments, laughing amused.

You grunt. This isn't what you want at all. Astaroth swallows her shame and leaves, stomping her foot along the way. Sighing, you can't help but wonder if she is Brazilian, because she never gives up.

“By the way,” Astaroth calls from the middle of the corridor, “nice hairstyle, Belphegor.” She sticks out her tongue playfully and winks before going away. 

Belphie passes a lazy hand over his head, then he feels the plants and the mushroom. His face shows a wide range of emotions: surprise, incredulousness, confusion, then anger. You and the others are already laughing when the avatar of sloth starts cursing and demanding to know who did it. Everyone laughs for so long, Belphie ends up laughing too. Back home, you fix his hair. 

  
  


**Luci <3**

_ I made some good progress this week and I’m sure we can go out this Sunday. _

**Tsukishima**

_ Date? _

**Luci <3**

_ Date. _

**Tsukishima**

_ Date!!!! _

**Luci <3**

:happy emoji:

_ Do you want to take the whole day off? _

_ We can go anywhere you want. _

**Tsukishima**

_ Absolutely. _

_ I deserve it.  _

**Luci <3**

_ And I don’t? _

**Tsukishima**

_ Don’t be so dramatic! _

_ It will be fun!  _

_ So Sunday after lunch? Is it ok? _

**Luci <3**

_ Works for me. _

**Tsukishima**

:Whooo emoji: 

  
  


This past week, things finally went back to normal. The demon brothers, who have been way too hyperactive ever since you came back, have now been more or less calm. Different from the beginning of the previous exchange program, they haven't been fighting all the time. In fact, you even catch Satan and Beel figuring out stuff together like proper brothers more than once. Same goes for Levi and Mammon, who don’t seem to be antagonizing each other all the time and have way tamer insults for each other now. After Asmo was released from his punishment, he started acting more like himself. But he hasn't been as wild at parties as you expected. Somehow he feels more contained too. And there was no more talk about demonic spiders hiding inside the walls of the house. Belphie keeps being a lazy demon and Lucifer works all day but appears for the meals as usual.

Next week is the culture festival and you're happy you made the members work seriously on it, because you could never organize such a complicated and tiresome thing. Levi is so eager he finishes all the costumes with one week to go. Everyone tries on their respected costumes and they are all ready. Lucifer has been coming home earlier, but he still has much paperwork to do. The illusion training with Mephisto has been good as well. Either he's a wonderful teacher or you were born to learn magic. Your plan is to ‘escape’ during the festival to invade the locked section of the library with Solomon, since most buildings in RAD will be closed and deserted thanks to the festival.  _ If _ you manage to escape from the demon brothers, of course. You are already expecting to be the center of everyone's attention again. Being so popular is a curse...

When the day of the date comes, you message Lucifer for him to wear some real casual clothes. No formal clothes! Only casual! And since you demanded him to wear something different for the day, you decide to wear different stuff too. A black skirt that reaches your knees; some light and torn grey leggings underneath; a loose shirt in a strong purple color and skull pattern; black leather boots and a light black jacket. Asmo does your makeup, something lighter and close to natural today. To finish the look, several silver and black accessories: earrings, bracelets, a black choker plus a delicate silver necklace. Before leaving, you ask Spencer, the resident sentient  _ normal _ spider of your room about what he thinks. While he says all demons and humans look the same, he compliments your choice of clothes. You wave goodbye to the spider, telling him to wish you good luck. 

_ “Good luck, Tsuki!” _ wishes Spencer cheerfully, as you pass by the door. He always takes things so literally.

Happy and ready, you hop to the entryway to wait. 

“You look pretty,” Beel smiles when he sees you pass in front of the common room. Stopping, you wave back at him, also smiling at the big demon. 

Satan, Asmo and Belphie are all there. Belphie is either lying down or sleeping on Beel’s lap, Satan has a book in hand on the ground next to them and Asmo stands near Beel.

“All my flawless work!” Asmo laughs, proud of himself. He’s also all dressed, going to some friend’s party today. It’s a Sunday after all, his favorite day of the week. “Anyway, I’m off too~ Enjoy your day Tsuki~” he winks when he passes you. Only waving, you see Asmo walking away. It’s good to see him all cheerful again. His brothers tell him to take it easy and don't come home too late. The avatar of lust only winks and waves before leaving.

Coming closer to the others, you hear Belphie whistling at you. Oh, so he is awake. 

“What bit you today to be dressed like this?” the slothful demon asks.

“I can’t wear something different for a change?” It is either a shrug or the demon decides to move weirdly. Shaking like a worm. “Or perhaps, this is how you say I am dressed nicely?”

The demon snorts and blushes at your words.

“Ignore this bullheaded demon, Tsuki, you look  _ really nice _ ,” says your number one admirer, the wrath demon. He even sighs dreamingly. 

“Lucifer is a lucky guy,” comments Beel, making Belphie choke on air and both you  _ and Satan _ blush. You bet the avatar of wrath was thinking the same thing.

“Haha, thanks!” Your blush is getting stronger now. “I guess someone in this relationship has to be lucky!” you comment playfully. 

“Enjoy your date,” says Satan. His book is a bit higher now, covering half of his face, probably to hide his blush as well. “Lucifer has been extra nice to us recently, must be your effect on him.”

“Really? He looks the same to me.” Your head tilts with confusion. Lucifer has been more… _ careful _ with his words. But that's about it, he didn't come off as any different recently. 

“Oh, he definitely has been softer,” confirms Belphie. “A few months before you came back, he was all agitated and snapping at everything and anything. Mammon got punishments every week and someone else too. I got several myself.” He shudders with the memories. “But after you came back? I never have seen him so calm for so long. Er, with the exception of the day you ran away with your friends.”

“I didn’t run away, I went to a party. Against his will. Secretly. Anyway.” You wave a dismissive hand, not wanting to talk about it. “I should get going. Don't do anything wild or the punisher will be  _ me _ .” You stick your tongue, playfully.

All three demons collectively cringe. The biggest difference between your punishments and Lucifer is, one, they are already used to Lucifer’s cruel methods of torture, and two, you are more creative. Oh, Beel destroyed the kitchen wall again? He has to fix it by hand and only eat raw potatoes for a day. Satan fucked up a prank? Nice, he’ll be magically locked away from the library and his room, and he has to clean Lucifer’s study and room. Belphie can work on the greenhouse that everyone ignores a full week too. That’s why they are so fucking scared of you, instead of physical pain, you decide to lock them from their pleasures and make them  _ work _ . Lucifer, the sadist, has been threatening his brothers with punishments from  _ you  _ as of late, since he enjoys seeing people suffering so much. 

Waving them goodbye, you go to the entryway. The demons cheer you on and promise to be good. Since you don’t see Levi and Mammon, you send them a selfie of your gorgeous outfit. The answer comes in seconds. A bunch of key smashes and emoji to praise you. The brothers tell you they are playing games in Levi's room. You commend their pastime and gently remind them that if the house is on fire when you and Lucifer come back, the only one giving out punishments will be you. Immediately, you’re spammed with crying emojis and promises to be well behaved. You only post a happy emoji, earning more fearful ones.

While you’re constantly dreaming of going out with Lucifer, part of you  _ always  _ worries the remaining demon brothers will go crazy and stupid without the resident parents of this family present. That’s why there are so many threats being made, so they can  _ at least  _ think twice before doing anything.

Some footsteps catch your attention and you turn around to see Lucifer approaching you. And wow, he’s simply,  _ wow _ .

“Is this  _ casual  _ enough for you?” he asks with a smirk and a blush. 

Holy shit. The man has a grey button-up shirt with thin black stripes, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A long and simple necklace with a metal pendant similar to a peacock feather ornates his chest, together with a giant golden clock. Brown pants, leather belt, black shoes and a pair of simple square glasses finish the outfit.  _ Why does he have glasses and why does he look so incredibly hot with them? _ And he has no coat! Guess that’s what he calls casual, no fancy coat or tie.

You do try to answer his question, but all that leaves your mouth is some incomprehensive gibberish. The demon chuckles at your lack of coherent thoughts and walks close until he can play with your hair. 

“Cat got your tongue?” he asks playfully.

Some choking sounds and a very flustered face later:

“Wow, it’s hot in here! Haha,” you laugh nervously and step away, fanning yourself with your hand.  _ 'Oh my God, that sounded so lame!' _

“I guess you like it then.” His smile is melting your frozen heart. “You look amazing, Tsuki. Shall we go?”

Nodding, you (bravely) hold his hand and move.

Today you want to do something different. Every date is the same, either going out to shop or eat. Or to drink and get drunk. Three times you two went to see a rock concert. Very fun! But sadly, there are no good concerts happening today. But things will not be like usual today. No, not this time. 

Lucifer takes you to a theater, to see a musical. It's about one of many literature pieces of the Devildom. It's nice enough, but at many parts, you have to ask Lucifer the meaning of a word or an expression, and even a reference to a real event, to understand what's going on in the show. While you don't get much of the story—it is about a runaway girl going to work at a theatre—the songs and the acting are good. Lucifer seems to enjoy it. The fancy clothes, acting and singing, and overall good story is just his taste.

Upon leaving the theater, Lucifer is worried you didn't have a good time. You did, the only issue was the several Devildom references you didn't catch. Unconvinced, Lucifer suggests seeing a movie. It's close by, just down the street. Since it's still early and popcorn is good, you agree. 

The movie theater is a wide place with bright lights and many posters. The smell of fresh popcorn is present in the whole place. It looks just like a normal movie theater you would see in the human realm. But the four movie options are all kind of bad. There's a cliche romantic love story, an action packed movie with generic plot, cars and explosions, a horror movie that looks extremely gory and a suspense thriller. Since both the romance and the action movie look terribly generic, and you don't have the stomach to handle Devildom horror movies, you pick the suspense. 

In the end, the movie isn't bad. Aside from a plot hole and the fact you saw the main plot twist from a mile away, it's enjoyable. Lucifer spends the whole time with a hand wrapped around your shoulders. But the black popcorn they serve here isn't as good as human popcorn. Still edible. 

You and Lucifer chat about the movie and the play, comparing their strong and weak points. Then what part each of you liked the best. While Lucifer prefers act two of the play and the climax of the movie, where things get more fast paced, you have the opposite opinion. You enjoyed the last act of the play more and the middle of the movie, when the suspense was better and more well paced. All things considered, it is a good discussion to have.

Wandering through the Devildom streets, you look at some shops, but without the wish to buy anything. Lucifer doesn't really buy things for himself either. It’s mostly a calm evening. The street lights are on now. Different from the human world, the posts have different colored lights, making the streets and the shops colorful. It truly gives the place a different air. The night is young and you don't really want to just eat and go home. There must be something else to do in this place.

“So,” you tug on Lucifer's arm, looking at him with a grin, “any other suggestions that aren't a restaurant?”

“Hmm.” He looks at you, then to the street while thinking. 

It’s easy to walk by the streets today because there aren't many people walking around. The cold air of the night starts bothering you a little. Your nose feels icy, so after closing a few buttons of your jacket, you rub your nose with the back of your hand. Good thing you decided to wear a jacket. Devildom nights tend to be very chill.

“Like…maybe we could play something? Like bowling?” you suggest, thinking out loud. 

“We actually use really heavy balls that explode when hitting the bowling pins…” Lucifer explains with a frown. That's really unfortunate, bowling is fun but it seems like demon bowling is too dangerous. “Sadly, it's still too early for this, but...” He holds his chin for a moment, thinking if he should say what's on his mind or not. “We should have an itinerant carnival in about two months.”

“Carnival? That sounds fun!”

“Yes,” he smiles, “we should all go together to have some fun.” You nod, already dreaming of this carnival. “Ah, I guess it's not your thing, but…”

“What?” you ask curiously when Lucifer trails off, looking unsure.

“A friend of mine is an associate of The Fall and it's his birthday today. I'm sure he would give us some discount. I know you don't like busy places like a club. However, they do have private rooms to rent.”

_ 'Private rooms' _ only gives you dirty ideas. Feeling yourself blush at your own indecent thoughts, you look away. It's true you don't like nightclubs like The Fall, but, a discount and some privacy do sound nice. Humming, you debate about the idea.

“I do like to dance,” you say out loud. 

“Indeed. Are you considering the place?” The demon looks both surprised and amused. “It was only an idea that came to me, we don't need to go,” he reminds you.

“No, it's fine! I want to do things differently today!” you say with a smile. You are determined to not let things fall in a routine with Lucifer. “And, if it is really not to my taste, we can just leave, right?”

“Of course,” he nods immediately. 

With no more arguing, you two call a taxi for the club.

As usual, there's a long line to enter. But lines don't exist to someone with such a high profile like Lucifer. He simply walks to the entrance, holding your hand, and smiles to the security. The men immediately recognize him and let you two go. Simple as that. You almost want to question if he comes here often.

Inside, you see the club is full of demons and as busy as always. Now that you’re here, you suddenly feel like leaving; this isn't your go-to place. You look around, uncertain of what to do first. In the middle of the main saloon, there’s the dance floor, a bar to the left, another one to right, and many tables and sofas scattered around, but all occupied. This place has too many people and it makes you want to go inside a shell to hide. You thought you have been dealing better with the social anxiety of late, but now it seems to be back at full force. Unable to focus on just one place, your gaze ends on the pretty pink lights of the ceiling. 

Lucifer must have sensed your uneasiness. He squeezes your hand until you feel it and look at him. He has a sweet smile on his face and pulls your hand gently. 

“Want to grab something to drink first?” 

“Ah… I… Sure,” you stutter a reply, then drop your eyes at the ground, feeling your face heat up but unsure of  _ why _ .

The avatar of pride takes you to the bar more to the right. It’s a small and kind of cozy place. A single barman is making some drinks for a customer. You sit on the seat on the far right, close to the wall, and Lucifer sits besides you. The bar has a faint blue color to contrast with the whole pink aesthetic of the club. Several alcoholic bottles are neatly organized on the wall behind the barman. Champagne and wine glasses are all suspended in the air by magic, close to the ceiling of the small bar. On the stand under the bottles are several things that are mixed into the drinks. Containers full of…er, things? Some look like fruit pieces and liquor, but some don’t? Crazy Devildom ingredients for sure. The place doesn’t have much luminosity, so it’s even harder to tell things apart, but one of those containers  _ definitely  _ has  _ eyes _ . From what? You’d rather not know. 

Since you get so lost staring at the weird bottles of things, Lucifer goes ahead and asks for some whiskey and a red demonus for you. Staring now at the glass full of red liquid with a piece of fruit similar to an orange slice floating there, you wonder if you should remind him you’re not a big fan of demonus. But, in the end, you’d rather just accept your fate and drink the thing. Contrary to your expectations, the red demonus has a sweeter taste and is kind of refreshing. Not bad, you can drink this. 

For a few minutes, you two only drink in silence.

Lucifer passes a hand around your waist and squeezes your stomach to catch your attention. You turn to look at him, playing with your empty glass. The demon has a soft smile. The lights of the place are all reflecting on his glasses. It's kind of distracting.

“Was it to your liking?”

“Yes, it’s sweet. Honestly feels like a juice.”

“Juice?” he blinks, dumbfounded for a second, before composing himself again. “This demonus has alcohol too…”

“Legit didn’t notice,” you shrug. Most brands of Demonus do not feel alcoholic at all and can’t get you drunk. “Hey,” you playfully pulls the end of his shirt, “why do the security here know you? Have you been coming here a lot?” You frown. “Does Lucifer have a secret life that I do not know?” you inquire, faking being annoyed.

“Impossible,” he shakes his head negatively, very calm. “The employees here are just very old. The staff is basically the same as five hundred years ago,” he smiles. “Did you get jealous? That’s cute.”

You let go of his clothes and turn your face away, pouting.

“I am not jealous, but if you’d rather pass time in clubs than with me, then you don't need me.”

“You sound jealous.”

“Nonsense.” 

“You’re cute,” he pinches your right cheek, earning a slap. “But I can guarantee I haven’t come to any night clubs alone.”

“Better be telling me the truth!” Though you are still pouting, you know he’s being genuine. Lucifer simply chuckles, knowing you aren’t being serious too. 

“So, what do you want to do now?” He waves towards the club. “I mean, if you haven’t changed your mind.”

Feeling nervous, you move around on your seat. Your legs move up and down, and your fingers tap non-stop over the table of the bar while you consider your options. The place isn’t  _ bad _ , per se, it’s just full of people and you feel like you’re being watched. If you could distract, that would be great. Your eyes, after scanning the place again, ended up staring at the dance floor. 

“Dancing would be nice…” you think out loud.

“We can go to dance, do you have any issues?”

“No… I always feel a bit nervous when I start dancing but I normally forget about people seeing me after a while. Thing is…you only dance sophisticated styles, right? This is a club.” You wave a hand when you can’t pick the right word. “You know?” Lucifer keeps staring mildly confused. “People dance like, informal?” Why suddenly can’t you speak like a normal person?

The demon is very indifferent for a moment. He blinks, then scratches his chin. After a moment of being lost in thoughts, he smiles and looks back at you.

“If you’re worried about me, I want you to know I’m familiar with more than just ballroom dances.”

“Really?” For some reason you imagine Lucifer breakdancing on the floor and have to press your lips together to not laugh. “I would like to see that.”

“Then, let’s go,” he winks, holding your arm. “Nothing to be worried about, right?”

Stumbling out of the seat, you have no option but to follow Lucifer. You make your way through the waves of people to reach the dance floor. It’s a bit crowded here, so Lucifer guides you to a corner that is somehow less crowded. The music is loud. If you were not in a tense, anxious-filled mood, the electronic music would be enough of a distraction. 

When Lucifer stops, you too stop, awkwardly in front of him. He’s smiling, waiting, which only makes you feel more nervous. The lights on his eyes seem to bother the prideful demon as well. He takes off the fake glasses and stores them in a pocket. Still looks hot as hell.

Everyone around you is dancing, there’s no one  _ staring  _ at you, why is this brain so pressed over it? You just have to dance. Free yourself from this worry. Lucifer's right, you danced in front of so many people in Diavolo's parties before, here isn't that different.

You take a deep breath and smile at Lucifer, but the second you are about to speak, you freeze, seeing two  _ very  _ familiar demons just behind him. Lucifer’s smile drops and he tilts his head a bit, confused, before…

“Lucifer!”

The avatar of pride looks like someone had electrocuted him. He jumps where he stands before quickly turning around and seeing Diavolo standing right in front of him, smiling, like usual. 

“What a coincidence!” Diavolo laughs happily. Barbatos, who is by his side, waves politely, also looking content.

Diavolo and Barbatos are here. Lucifer holds your arm and moves you two closer to the demons, since it’s hard to listen to them with all this loud music blasting from the DJ station.

Right now, you feel like there’s a volcano inside of you and this volcano has just erupted. A fire is coming from deep inside of you, like boiling water, and taking over your mind and body, blinding you from any emotion besides  _ rage _ . Both your hands close in fists and they tremble with your repressed anger. Now they are here, the demon prince will just steal all of Lucifer's attention and you are NOT letting it happen!

“Do you have no friends?!” Against your better judgment, you burst out to Diavolo, stepping out of Lucifer’s shadow. No ‘hello’, no ‘what?’, just straight up  _ ‘what the fuck are you two doing here’ _ ? 

“I have plenty of friends,” answers Barbatos with a smile.

“I wasn't talking to  _ you.”  _ You feel like you can scare away anyone that  _ dares  _ approach you now. Your whole body trembles with fury, your expression is one of scorn, and you don’t know how you haven’t kicked the two demons away by now. That’s some new self control milestone right there.

“Actually, today's the birthday of a friend of mine!” Diavolo laughs, unbothered. Barbatos is also unbothered by your rude and borderline furious behavior. “Stolas, right, Lucifer? Have you come to congratulate him as well?”

“We are on a  **_date_ ** , actually,” you angrily state, before Lucifer can say whatever bullshit is going on inside his head. “So  _ scram _ . It's  _ our _ day today. Lucifer's too busy, expect a call from him in two to three business days.”

Both demons stare at you with widened eyes. Their smiles drop. Lucifer looks at one, to the other, to you, completely lost. The music is loud in your ears again, and they are burning. Quickly, you take a look at your clothes, afraid of being on literal flames considering how much your temperature just rose. 

“ _ OHHHH?! _ I had no idea you two were dating!” Diavolo opens that big mouth of his to scream louder than the ambient music.

“...Are you kidding me…?” For a second your shock is stronger than your rage. 

Barbatos proceeds to congratulate you, Diavolo right after. They clap their hands and smile affectionately.  _ What the Hell _ . How did they  _ not _ know? Are they mocking you?! There's no way they don't know. Especially Mister Time Lord. Lucifer keeps looking as lost as possible. He even looks paler now.

“No wonder you are so overprotective of Lucifer!” Diavolo points out, laughing to himself. 

“I—Well, look at him, if I don't take care of this workaholic then who will?”

_ “Silence now _ .” Lucifer grabs your forearm. He looks seriously at you, but your anger levels are hitting the ceiling. He doesn’t look scary at all, more like annoyed. “Sorry for their rudeness,” Lucifer turns back to his friends, “we are dating, yes, and on a date. Being interrupted makes Tsuki mad.”

Diavolo and his butler look thoughtful for a moment. When the prince opens his mouth, you cut him off. 

_ “Scram _ ,” you bark again, twisting your forearm so you can properly send daggers to the demons with your eyes. The hold on your body gets tighter. “How the Hell didn’t you know?” you point at Barbatos. “I can excuse the giant red hair, but not  _ you!  _ We have been dating for over a year!”

“That long?!” Diavolo gasps.

“I never told them!” Lucifer hurriedly says to your left ear. Never told them and they never found out?! How?! Are they stupid?! Diavolo sure looks stupid enough. 

“Contrary to what you may imagine, I don’t use my power often,” Barbatos answers politely, calm and serious. “And I assuredly wouldn’t use it to spy on you.” You laugh with disdain. As if the big prince of Hell here wouldn't want to know what this crazy human is up too. Didn't he give you some sort of spy spider brooch before? “I’m serious,” the butler insists. “However, if you want to know, I saw once there was a strong possibility that you would end up dating Lucifer.”

“ _ ‘I saw a strong possibility’ _ ,” you repeat, in a mocking tone. Lucifer pushes you to the side, shows you a very angry expression that demands your cooperation and releases the hold on your forearm.

“Please forgive them,” he shamelessly asks of Diavolo and Barbatos, with a voice that lacks the anger he just showed you. To the demons, you shoot a truly ugly look and two middle fingers from behind Lucifer, so the prideful demon wouldn’t see. Now, Diavolo and Barbatos have more neutral expressions. Your lips move again, spelling  _ ‘go away, or else’, _ but you get no reaction. “Can you two leave us be for a moment?”

_ FOR A MOMENT?! _ Seeing red and feeling that wave of madness again, you step forward, only to be restrained by Lucifer’s quick reflexes. The demon holds you by your waist while you try to frantically push him away.

“It does seem like we walked into an intimate date…” Diavolo says with his voice way lower now, because you barely hear him. If by ‘intimate’, he means you trying to wrestle Lucifer in a blind fury, he’s right. “My apologies, we are leaving now.”

“GOOD!” you scream and Lucifer covers your mouth instantly. All of your screams and profanities are muffled now.

“Sorry for the interruption, Lucifer, Tsuki,” says Barbatos, “please continue your date.”

Saying that, both wave briefly and turn their backs to leave. Incredulous, you watch the two demons disappear in the middle of the sea of people. A minute later, Lucifer releases you. 

“Have you lost your mind?!” he yells, face all red. Is he embarrassed or mad? “How can you act so rudely in front of Lord Diavolo and Barbatos?!”

“If I didn’t scare them away, they would never leave!” you say back. You’re still not afraid, your blood too hot to be intimidated now.

“You could still have made them leave while being polite!”

“LISTEN!” you punch him in the chest and push him. Lucifer seems to have lowered his demonic reflexes, since he lets himself be pushed away, stumbling backwards into a wall. You kick the wall right next to him, the impact provoking a loud  _ bam _ . Your leg stays there, your furious eyes cornering him. Lucifer only blinks, not daring to move. Or maybe extremely curious about your reactions. “We can’t get rid of those two CLOWNS at RAD! You WORK for that bitch! Are you SERIOUSLY giving him attention on the day of our date?!” you demand answers, angrily kicking the wall again. You can swear it cracks under your feet, but that can’t be right, it’s probably only your imagination. “I waited a whole fucking week for this date! Even more, if I want to be fair!  _ No one _ is getting in my way!”

The demon only looks at you for a moment, his expression neutral. You’re about to lose your patience when Lucifer takes a small step towards you. 

“Sorry, you’re right.”

“What?” your leg falls from the wall. Together with your limb, part of your wrath seems to have dropped too.

“I noticed it really bothers you, right?” His eyebrows are down and he’s slightly bending down. Lucifer puts a hand on your shoulder, while the other is on his chest, above his heart. “Not validating your rude and feral act, but I can see why you got so enraged over it. We have been dating for over a year, right? But it doesn’t  _ feel  _ like that long.” He looks away now. “And I know it's mostly because we spent a year apart, but I can see that I dedicate too much of my time to my work and too little to you. And it  _ bothers  _ you.” His tone is painful, as if he had figured out something truly awful. Nodding, you remain silent. “I promise to share my attention more equally from now on, so you can stop worrying so much over being interrupted like this.”

For a moment, you keep quiet. Nothing that comes to your mind sounds fair enough to say. He's completely right, it stuns you that he finally understood what really bothers you about this whole thing. It warms your heart and makes you feel like this relationship has more future than what you allow yourself to believe. Still unsure of what to say, you decide to use your actions. Stepping closer, you hug Lucifer. He’s stiff, surprised, for a second, before hugging you back. 

“Thanks, Lucifer. That’s all I want. Truly.” The hug stays for a full minute before you move away. Lucifer passes a hand on his face for a second. When he looks back at you, his eyes look a bit red. He smiles and his hands go to hold yours, squeezing them gently. 

“Do you still want to dance or…?” he looks so bashful saying it, small smile and a bit of a blush, eyes slightly open.

“I am  _ not  _ leaving until I dance till my feet bleed now!” you exclaim with determination. Lucifers laughs. 

This time, you take his hand and bravely walk back to the dance floor. To the middle of it. Since you got so fired up, you can’t feel your anxiety yet. It’s full of people, but as you walk in, the space just seems to magically appear. Maybe everyone saw your feral display before and they want to avoid you. Good. You don’t want to be touching strangers either. 

Stopping in front of Lucifer, surrounded by demons, you start moving your body. You dance like you’re the best dancer in the whole three realms and you know it. The colorful lights above you become a blur. The music, a distant and relaxing constant. Focusing on your moves, your mind shuts down, forgetting the previous nuisances. As you two keep dancing, back and forth, twisting, turning, holding hands, hitting on each other's bodies, you start grinning and laughing like an idiot. Just happy to be together. Not thinking, just moving and laughing. The air is hot and humid, and you can feel the sweat on your body, but you can’t stop. True to his words, Lucifer _does_ _know_ how to dance in clubs like this. He's a lot better than what you expected.

The vibing to the music stops momentarily, when someone bumps into you, and you stumble forward. Luckily, your boyfriend is there to catch you, and you breathlessly hit your forehead on his chest, having a laughing fit right after. Lucifer is strong and holds your weight with his arms, keeping you from collapsing on the floor. Still giggling, you are dragged a bit far. You feel like Lucifer is saying something over your ear, but you can’t understand what he's saying. 

Almost out of the dance floor, he stops. You have wrapped your arms around the tall demon and let your foot drag on the floor. It was kind of fun, he’s so strong.

“Tsuki?” Moving your head, you stare at his deep crimson eyes. The demon is also sweaty, his hair is sticking to his forehead. He has a goofy smile and is also a bit out of breath. He looks divine. You don't believe he could have ever been  _ more _ beautiful as an angel. “Happy now?”

“Happy~” you smile, rubbing your face on his toned chest. “Didn’t expect you to dance so well, just like… _ young  _ people,” you laugh, remembering he dislikes being called an old man.

“I may be old, but I know many things,” he smirks, smugly. “After all, I had a lot of time to learn.”

“So, ‘you can’t teach an old dog a new trick’ doesn’t fit you?”

“Absolutely not,” he takes pride in saying it. Suddenly, Lucifer hugs you tighter and brings his face closer to you. Your face starts heating again thanks to this closeness. “This old dog knows  _ many  _ tricks,” he winks, making you shudder. Oh, whatever he’s insinuating is making your knees weak.

“Like?” you can’t help but smile, part eager, part because of nervousness. Your stomach feels like it was invaded by several butterflies and they are  _ wild _ .

Lucifer is very happy with this small word. He grins, excited, his eyes getting just a tiny bit of a glow to them, before he closes them and kisses you. You melt into the kiss, closing your eyes, mind blank. Lucifer pulls you closer, a strong hold on your waist, his other hand traveling down and groping your ass. You feel a shiver. Hands feel his strong chest first, before going up, wrapping on his neck, playing with his hair. The make-out goes for a bit, you can’t tell, losing track of time while attached to Lucifer’s body. Whatever he’s doing, it gets you melting and yearning for his touch. Kissing fervently, you both keep exploring each other’s body, getting as close as physically possible.

When you try to push away to breathe, Lucifer bites your lower lips, making you moan sinfully thanks to the good sensation. Nice again, you feel a shiver travel your body.

“So, does this old dog satisfy you?”

“Definitely an old  _ horny  _ dog…” You clean the saliva off your face, looking away, face burning and out of breath. Lucifer doesn't look much better, despite his proud grin. “But yes,” you admit, blushing harder. You feel hot all over again, but this time not because you are furious.

“I still have more tricks.” He's smirking, also blushing.

“Oh?” you can’t contain your excitement.

Lucifer stops holding you. You whine at the loss of the warmth of his body. Letting yourself be guided again, he walks around the club until stopping before an empty pink couch. There he pushes you on to it, before crawling over you with a very seductive expression, licking his lips and all. He sets himself between your legs. One hand supporting him is on the couch, beside your head. So close again. Your temperature rises again. 

“Uh…this is a very public pla—”

“You  _ just  _ remembered it?” he chuckles. Oh damn, he's right. You  _ were  _ making out in front of legit everyone just now. Your face keeps on getting hotter and hotter, suddenly fully awake of the very public place you're in. Hopefully no one recognizes you or Lucifer or both. Why would anyone, right? Yes, you're just overreacting and overthinking. 

All your thoughts are broken when Lucifer bends down, kissing you again. Just like before, you go for his touch, kissing him back like there’s no tomorrow. You can feel his touch all over you again, getting lost in this pleasure. With each kiss, you get more and more excited. Your groin rubs at his and you moan in the kiss. This is making you more and more excited.

“Wait…” you pull away, out of breath. “If this continues...”

“We could go to one of the private rooms,” he whispers in your ear, between kisses. 

Again with the  _ private  _ room talk! You choke on air at the mention of them again. That’s just the place where people go to fuck, right?!

Shaking your head, you try to sit on the couch, to clean your head so you can think straight. But Lucifer doesn't understand your intentions and puts you to sit on his lap. A short yell of surprise escapes you when you are moved to sit on his legs. 

“What do you think, love?” he asks, smiling, lightly slapping your butt. Another yell leaves you.

“I don’t know… Never thought of going out to f...” your voice vanishes before you can finish the sentence. 

“So embarrassed all of a sudden,” Lucifer chuckles, playing with the fabric of your skirt with a hand, holding your waist lazily with the other. “I’m not forcing you to do anything,” he kisses your forehead, “it’s all your call.”

“Forcing the responsibility on me, hmm?” you retort, not as annoyed as you wanted to sound. Lucifer only smiles, shaking his head innocently. Since you’re sitting on his lap, you gaze at his beautiful face, flawless, just like a sculpture. And his dark raven hair, so silky and soft to the touch. Your hand is just drawn to it, to touch and play with it. Making a mess of the hair that always looks perfect no matter what Lucifer does with it. Like this, close and intimate, you wish you could be more open with your feelings for Lucifer. He is trying so hard to make things right now. At the very least, he deserves some nice words. 

For some reason, you are thinking of a kind of gloomy song to sing when you are feeling so happy.  _ “When I feel brave. And gather my words. My speech I gripped. Starts to slip and slur. I don't want this black cloud anymore. I don't want this dead doubt anymore. Weighing me down. Stressing me out.’ _ ”

The demon stops everything he was doing to look at you as you sing. But as you sing, his expression becomes more serious.

“ _ ‘I like happy songs. With titles that don't match at all. So spin the bottle in your brain. And match your weakness with a name’ _ .” You chuckle. “It’s from a song,” you smile, embarrassed. “ _ ‘You're so cold. I've got to know. What made you so scared to be alone? I've got to know. Who chilled your bones? That wasn't me’, _ ” you sing another part, laughing softly, thinking it matches the big old and evil Lucifer. 

“Definitely not you.” He brings a hand to caress your cheeks. Grabbing his hand, you kiss the back. There are many things you wish you could say. But nothing sounds right. Normally he’s the one who initiates things and you follow along. It’s hard…to start something. 

_ “I don't want this black cloud anymore. I don't want this dead doubt anymore. Weighing me down. Stressing me out. _ ”

The lyrics of Gloom Boys by Waterparks come back to your head. 

Being brave, you kiss Lucifer’s neck, giving him several open mouth, messy kisses, like he does to you. The prideful demon chuckles, either by amusement or you are tickling him. You keep kissing and biting the skin, all the way to his left ear.

“Alright, let’s go to the private place,” you agree, face burning at the mention of the room. “But I want to go to a bathroom first.”

“Fine by me.”

Letting out of Lucifer’s lap, you wait for the demon. He guides you to a nearby bathroom. Then he stops right in front of you, looking around the place. His eyes squint at something, but you don’t know at what. Confused, you stare at him.

“I’ll go get a card for a room, it should only take a minute,” he explains, very serious. “Wait  _ right here _ , do  _ not  _ go anywhere alone. Understood?”

“Yesh, fine,” you roll your eyes before waving him goodbye.

So overprotective. Who would even mess with you by now? Lucifer probably left a lot of his smell on you anyway.

Though you expected the bathroom to be very pink as well, the walls and floor and sink are all black and white. Looks quite chic, to be honest. There’s only one demon in the bathroom, on the ground. Hugging an empty bottle of demonus. Sleeping. Or better yet, passed out thanks to alcohol. Ignoring the demon, you go to use the bathroom. You were holding the wish to relieve yourself for a while. 

Being done, you check how you look in the big mirror of the bathroom. Then you fix your clothes and wash your hands and face. Stepping out, you don’t see Lucifer anywhere. And you took a few minutes. You look around, confused, but don’t see the demon anywhere. 

Haha.

That’s bad. The club is crowded. Full of demons. Inebriated demons. You have a bad feeling about it.  _ ‘Calm down’, _ you tell yourself before panicking. You take one step ahead, still looking at every side. No sight of the demon. You hear a  _ hey  _ coming from somewhere behind you, but you ignore it since it can’t be towards you. The voice isn’t familiar. 

_ ‘Ok, back to the bathroom!’ _

But, as you turn around to go back into hiding, there’s a tall and buff demon blocking your way. 

“Hey.” It’s the same voice as before. You get so stunned you remain still, staring. “You’re a human right? It’s been a while since I met a human so—”

“I have a boyfriend,” you burst out, not interested in hearing another word. You saw that film before, guy’s up to no good. Panic is rising. 

He frowns for a second, before letting out a laugh.

“I can see that, but I bet we could share—”

“Not interested.” 

You turn around to the opposite direction.  _ Fuck _ . Lucifer told you to stay here but this is an emergency, you have to get away from this demon. Maybe you should summon Lucifer. Yes, that sounds like a great idea. Trying to swallow your fear, you start chanting his summon spell with as much focus as possible. But you can't finish, you feel someone pulling your arm with force, stopping your magic. It’s the same demon! Without thinking twice, you close your free hand on a fist, cover it in flames with magic and punch the wrist of the demon, freeing yourself from his hold.

“I am  _ NOT  _ available!” you scream. 

The demon curses loudly and his expression morphs into one of rage. You step away, heart pounding in your chest, ready to fight, already with a fire spell ready to go into action. But then, you feel a gush of wind and blink. Suddenly, Lucifer is standing between you and the demon. 

“ _ Back off! _ ” he barks, growling like an animal.  _ “They are mine!”  _

The avatar of pride is  _ fuming,  _ showing off fangs and claws. Truly enraged, but not like the day you ran to go to that party, this wrath feels different. It’s reminiscent of the day where he attacked you in the Underworld Tomb. You take a step back without realizing it. The other demon seems like he’s going to say something, but Lucifer  _ growls  _ again and scares the living shit out of the demon, who runs away. Your back hits a wall and your heart jumps in your chest. Taking your hands to your chest, you try to calm down. You’re not sure about what scared you more, the awful demon or the feral Lucifer.

Lucifer paces around for a second, then takes a deep (and loud) breath. When he looks at you, the avatar of pride is a lot calmer.

“Are you okay, Tsuki?” he asks carefully, scanning your whole body with his worried eyes. “Did he do anything to you? Are you feeling well? Hurt anywhere?” he goes full overprotective mood, asking one question after the other.

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” you promise, showing him your hands, imploring him to calm down. Your heart still beats painfully. “He didn’t hurt me! Well, he grabbed my arm, but I punched it away!” Lucifer looks mortified for a moment, but he doesn't comment about it. He inspects your hands and arms with his own hands now. When he sees you’re not hurt, he lets them go, sighing. 

“I’m so glad you’re fine,” he sighs again. “I’m  _ so _ sorry, I met a friend on the way and he wouldn’t stop talking. I was trying my best to push him away and walk back when I heard you screaming, so I rushed here.” Lucifer looks down during his explanation, ashamed. Reaching for his pockets, he shows you a purple and black card. “I got the card for the room but…” he keeps looking down, unsure. “Do you need anything? Water?”

“Some water would be good—LUCIFER!”

You point frantically behind Lucifer where the same demon who pestered you before is back. Holding a chair. With two more demons backing him up. Time seems to slow down as you see Lucifer turning away and releasing his long black and sturdy wings to push the demons away. The avatar of pride also conjures a black ball of energy and throws it, exploding and damaging them. 

“Oh my God…!” Yelling, you hit your back against the wall again. Now all the demons who are closer stop and look at the scene. Unbelievable, Lucifer really did attack the demons.

The prideful demon hides his wings and frowns at the demons on the floor.

“I hope that's enough?” he mocks. “This is what you get from trying to sneak on the Avatar of Pride, Lucifer himself; the Right Hand Man of Lord Diavolo, the Leader of—”

“Yeah, yeah, you're Lucifer and whatever.” One of the demons gets back on his feet, shrugging.

“Do you not believe me?!” Lucifer takes a hand to his chest in a very offended way. You are honestly shocked someone wouldn't recognize him. Isn’t he like a public figure?

“Do you know how many  _ Lucifers _ we see here on a daily basis?” says another demon, also standing. Instead of answering, he laughs with disdain. “You ain't shit.”

“How  _ DARE _ you?!” yells you and Lucifer at the same time, both offended. “I will  _ show  _ you I am the  _ real  _ thing! And wipe the floor with your ass!” Lucifer snaps. His horns start to appear. That’s some way of upsetting him. Legit no one speaks to The Lucifer like this.

“You and what army?” one of them cocky says. 

_ “Me _ . _ ” _

Feeling a rush of adrenaline and confidence, you walk forward, right hand glowing with magic. You throw the magic away like a baseball, and it explodes on the demon’s faces. They are swallowed by white flames and screams. Lucifer stares at you, mostly in shock, and you smile triumphantly.

Sadly, the demons are not as low level as you thought. One of them ends your fire magic and jumps ahead. But Lucifer is ready and stops the demon midair, holding him by the neck and literally throwing him away. He hits another demon, falling on top of them and staying on the ground, moaning in pain.

The other two demons also rush in, and you throw another magic to make the legs of one of them petrified. He stumbles and falls. Lucifer sends another heavy ball of energy to hit the other. However, the remaining demon makes a counter spell. The ball explodes, provoking a wave of magic that hits other demons who are nearby

Now the demons who are hit by the magic are looking angry at Lucifer’s and your direction. Someone screams “FIGHT” over the ambient music and apparently, that’s all those demons were waiting for. Suddenly, the place explodes in chaos. Demons are transforming left and right. A dozen jump at Lucifer and you, already in their demon forms.

Feeling a rush of adrenaline and excitement, you get ready, hand glowing with magic. Lucifer has transformed too, his wings creating a strong wind that hits all demons, pushing them away. Now is the perfect opportunity to use a spell you have been dying to test. A dark purple net materialises, covering about ten of them at once, leaving the aggressive demons all immobile and bent down. You let out a loud “Yes!” at the sight; the restricting spell works wonders! Even Lucifer is impressed. He whistles at the scene of a dozen or so demons fighting a net for their freedom. It’s hilarious to see the demons scream, kick and even  _ bite  _ the magic net to try to break it.

But the scene quickly changes. All around the club, demons have started to fight each other. The music suddenly stops and the first sound you hear is a glass breaking at some random place. Then only screams and curses. 

Another demon decides to jump at Lucifer but he easily sends him flying in the opposite direction with the snap of a wrist. The flash of magic makes you blink. When you think of making a ward, Lucifer is already in front of you, using counter magic. Making sure you’re fine, Lucifer raises a ward around you and him, a delicate and translucid barrier. It will help to keep the demons a fair distance. Damn, he's so fast and efficient. Too bad you’re also prideful. 

Stepping out of Lucifer's shadow, you put on a show of your own again. Using a similar magic to his, you also make small balls of energy, but it’s fire. With your poor control, the small fireballs go in all directions, confusing demons and making them attack the wrong person. Oh well, it worked even better than what you wanted! You use your pyrokinesis to confuse and send off demons, laughing like a maniac, high on euphoria and drunk with the tingling of magic on your skin. Lucifer starts to fight demons physically. One of the club’s succubi (you know it’s a succubus because they use next to no clothes and all have bat-like demon forms), has whipped her tail on Lucifer’s face while he was fighting another demon. The avatar of pride hisses in pain. He quickly sends the demons he had been fighting flying through the air so he can grab the succubus by her tail and pull her forward. She screams just before Lucifer shoves a red blast of magic on her face, making the demon stumble backwards. She hits the ground and doesn't move anymore.

“Tsuki, we should go! It’s getting dangerous!” Lucifer yells to you. There’s a red line on his cheek, under his right eye, and it’s starting to bleed.

“But this is so fun!”

_ “FUN?!” _ he screams, pissed off and incredulous. 

Well the bar  _ is _ submerged in chaos and you can see spells flying in the air and fire and screams. The demons  _ are _ getting closer, and the ward Lucifer set is about to break down once and for all. But you can finally use your magic to your full potential! The excitement is clouding your judgment.

Before you can reply, the ward breaks earlier than expected, after a big and ugly demon tears them apart. In sync, both you and Lucifer turn around, hands in the air, and make more shields of protection. The translucid force shield stuns the demons and keeps him away. But you don’t have time to be impressed about using the same simultaneous magic as Lucifer because a demon pulls you from behind. 

In a fraction of a second, you notice it’s one of the succubi Lucifer fought not too long ago. Damn, they are a lot stronger than they look. The demon uses her claws to yank you towards her and wraps an arm around your neck, immobilizing you. 

You flinch. The unpleasant and tight contact to your neck triggers all that past trauma, keeping you incapable of thinking or moving. But as quickly as you’re taken, you’re free. Lucifer rushes ahead, punching the demon in the face. Her hold on your loosens and Lucifers pulls you closer to him. With a hand he holds you against his chest and with his other he summons another blast of magic, making the succubus scream in pain. To finish with this demon, Lucifer walks forward, kicking the succubus in the middle of her stomach, opening a hole there. You can hear the crack of bones, a pained gasp and feel the splashes of hot blood dampen your leg as he kills the demon. Your face stays pressed on his chest, not daring to move or look anywhere but ahead, only vaguely aware of what’s currently happening, fighting back a rising panic in your throat. You can feel the cold sweat dampening your clothes and your stomach being upset. Ah.  _ Feelings _ . You start feeling your body again. Hugging Lucifer, you feel his warmth. That’s good, your senses are slowly coming back. Letting out a breath you didn't know you were holding, you relax in the embrace. 

A moment later, Lucifer slowly pulls away, while you’re trying to make yourself more awake. Your mind still feels foggy and you’re a bit disoriented when Lucifer touches your chin, gently making you look at him.

“It’s okay, Tsuki, I’ll protect you,” his calm voice reassures you. 

Lucifer is smiling, face bleeding, fangs, horns and four imponent wings on his back. His eyes are a violent shade of red and glowing in the dark. His clothes are a bit damaged, cut in many places, dirty and burned, and his hair is all messed. Everything about him is distracting. His hand on your chin feels like an anchor to reality. You softly touch his arm, feeling his mass. Now that you’re getting more aware, you realize he just killed a demon for you. If this isn’t love what is? 

In any other circumstance, you would say you can protect yourself, but this is different. Ever since you were young, there was only you to protect yourself. You have to be strong on your own, count only on yourself. Some friends came along the way, but the pressure to always be able to do everything alone was always present. Not anymore. The relief you can feel from having someone beside you to protect you is immeasurable. If you weren’t in the middle of a war zone, you would hug Lucifer again. His presence alone was enough to prevent a panic attack, which is hilariously when you realise  _ he  _ was the  _ responsible  _ for so many anxiety and panic attacks before. That’s a massive change. You want to change too. Less pride and more acceptance of help is something needed in your life too, not only in Lucifer’s.

Another demon manages to bypass the ward before you can recompose yourself enough to speak. He sneaks on Lucifer, who only looks behind for a moment. The demon delivers a strong blow to one of Lucifer’s wings. The avatar of pride shudders and goes stiff around you. A small grunt leaves him and Lucifer grimaces, gritting his teeth. He clearly feels pain. The other wings send the demon away far enough for Lucifer to recite some curse in demonic language. The demon is suddenly swallowed by black flames and screams in agony. If you weren’t feeling so  _ numb  _ you would probably feel more than just a sting of pain in your stomach to watch a demon slowly melt by the evil flames that consume him. You force yourself to look away when it’s obvious that’s another very dead demon right there. It’s not like it’s a big deal to the demons, they don’t die from these sort of ‘accidents’. If a demon’s body is destroyed, they can ‘heal’ back to life in another part of Hell. They eventually come back in one piece.

Returning your attention to Lucifer, you can see he’s still a bit over the edge, looking around the place with very attentive eyes. You gently tug his clothes. Immediately, the demon is looking back at you, a hint of worry and fear on his face. 

“I want to protect you too.” Saying that, you start to smile. Lucifer’s whole face softens with shock, before he smiles again. 

“Alright. Help me get you out of here, then.” Now is your turn to get shocked. Lucifer chuckles at your expression, before his hand drops to hold yours. He tugs your hand, urging you forwards. Smiling, you nod. 

Running in the middle of the wave of demons is more fun than expected. But only because you get to use magic again. Lucifer opens the way, pushing demons away with both brute force and magic, and you make sure no one else gets in the way, abusing a Demon Repel spell you learned on your first week training under the witch Agnes. As the name indicates, it acts by creating a repel field that makes demons unable to approach you in a short radius. But it’s a very short lived spell that only lasts a couple of seconds, so you also add a moving ward spell. 

The demons all look pretty feral now and the air is heavy with magic. These demons are not ‘contained’ like the students of RAD. They go as far as tearing each other’s limbs, breaking bones and using very aggressive magic, summoning weapons and all. At one point, a spear caves in the ground before Lucifer. He stops suddenly, making you collide into him. But it only lasts a few seconds before Lucifer runs in another direction, dragging you along.

A minute later, you stumble on a lost trident. You stop to catch your breath, making Lucifer go wild with his magic to keep the demons away from you. To be honest, you are starting to tire out. Running while using magic after magic and making so many complex spells is ending all of your energy. It’s very impressive how Lucifer doesn't look tired yet. Perks of being a super high level demon. 

A maniacal laugh echoes through the place, getting your attention. Looking to the side, you see Lord Diavolo, Barbatos and a demon standing over a table in the middle of a bunch of demons. The laughing demon has a pair of great skeletal wings, a grey tail that keeps swinging in the air and bright neon green hair. It’s Belial, isn't it? 

Barbatos is hit by a spell and falls backwards, disappearing in the middle of the wave of raging demons. Diavolo screams his name and Belial yells something to Diavolo right after.

“Wait, that’s illegal!” Diavolo frowns and jumps after Barbatos to help him. Belial is left laughing even harder at that. It’s unexpected enough that you end up laughing too. Typical Belial.

Lucifer slows down near the entrance—now exit—of the club and you’re worried he's going to go help Diavolo and Barbatos. But a beam of magic lights up the whole place and you can see Belial running to help Diavolo and Barbatos standing on his feet again. The demon shakes his head and urges you out of the exit. The doors are guarded by the two huge security guards that let you and Lucifer enter easily before. They are both mammoth-like demons and don’t seem happy at all. The two demons refuse to let you two pass, not moving an inch when you stop. Lucifer frantically uses magic to keep every and any demon away. It seems like the security wants to trap all the troublemakers here?! Well, no point holding back now, you decided to use a curse.

“Really?  _ ‘A seven nation army couldn't hold me back. They're gonna rip it off. Taking their time right behind my back’ _ ,” you mock the demons, quoting Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. The demons frown even harder at that.  _ “Move no more! _ ”

Both demons flinch and go completely still at the curse. For the second time of the night, Lucifer grins and whistles at something you did. He doesn't hesitate to open the doors of the club with his bare hands. Your time to whistle. Such a display of strength; you almost stand there staring in awe. As soon as you and your boyfriend passes, Lucifer closes the door and seals it with magic, chuckling evilly in the process. Even on the outside, the sounds of the fights that come from the club are loud but less loud than inside the club for sure.

You two walk away, slowly, always looking behind. No one manages to escape. There’s an annoying buzzing in your ears. The silence of the empty streets is, somehow, loud. Though the streets are empty, the opened bars and restaurants are all crowded. Only a few feet away, you feel safe enough to sigh. Lucifer sighs too, but then he winces. Alert, you snap your head back to him. Lucifer is grimacing while looking at one of his wings. Ah, that’s the wing that got hit by that demon before! You gasp, running to his side.

“I wish I wasn't so bad at healing magic!” you examine at his wing, seeing the damage and wondering about what to do. The other three are all folded behind the avatar of pride, minus this one, which is hanging lower and has its feathers more disheveled than the other wings. You look at his face then. The cut on his face has cured already, but the place is still a bit red.

“It’s fine, I heal fast,” Lucifer assures you, with a pained smile.

“You must have used a ton of magic just now, that’s why it isn’t healing as fast.” Lucifer’s smile drops at your sharp and correct words. You pout, glaring at him. “Let me try something,” you plead. “I also don’t have a lot of energy left, but since you got hurt while protecting me, I want to help you.”

Lucifer drops his shoulders, sighing. Sensing him giving up, you come closer and try a healing spell, simple enough that you can’t possibly mess it up (which is always what happens when you try to make a healing spell, with the exception of ‘nothing’).

_ “May the pains that weigh you down be lifted _ ,” you say while very concentrated, hands glowing a faint green while a few inches away from the injured wing.

You are positive you did something this time around. Lucifer moves his wing a little. A content ‘hmm’ and a small smile on his face are his reaction.

“It feels a lot better.” The demon moves the wing a bit, before slowly folding it behind him like the others. “Still hurts a bit, but you managed to relieve a lot of the pain and the damage. Thanks.”

A warm feeling of happiness spreads on your chest. You smile cheerfully, very pleased with a successful healing spell. Lucifer looks pleased too. 

As you two walk down the street, Lucifer reverts back to his normal form. His casual clothes are pretty much destroyed; cut, dirtied and burned in several places. Your clothes only got a few burn spots on the extremities and are dirty, mostly by demon blood. You are in way better shape than Lucifer. It’s actually very surprising how he got some damage. The demons who were at The Fall weren’t low levels, they put on a good fight. 

There’s a small cafe open at the end of the street that is mostly empty. Since that place only has a couple of customers, you stop by to buy some water, as your throat feels very dry. A heavy sigh leaves you as you lean against the counter waiting for your order. Your body suddenly feels sore and the tiredness from all the running and fighting earlier are catching up to you. The water bottle is drunk in a minute and you still feel thirsty. Lucifer suddenly laughs out loud next to you and you stare in shock at it. 

“W-what?” Is he so tired he’s starting to lose sanity?!

“Why are you so surprised?” The prideful demon cleans a tear off his eye, still laughing. “You won’t believe it, but between all the demon smells I smelled today, now I am picking up spider demon smells too.”

“Holy Hell, again?! Are demon spiders following us now?!” Saying that, you look around, trying to spot a demonic spider walking around or maybe someone stalking you. 

Lucifer laughs so hard that he snorts. That’s a funny sound, and you end up laughing too.

“There were so many demons back there I didn’t even see a spider demon.” Lucifer cleans the tears off his eyes again. “Guess I have to use a spell to take all the demon pheromones off us now so Beel won’t start worrying over it again.”

“You can do that? Ah! But you don’t want your brothers to know how you kicked everyone’s asses today?” you ask with a mischievous smile.

“ _ Pff _ . They can wait to hear about it tomorrow,” he shrugs. “I bet you’re going to be overly excited talking about how you could finally unleash your true feral side today,” he grins.

“Well, you are right! I want to brag.” You grin as much as possible. “Besides.” Getting another water bottle, you step close to Lucifer, and your whole face starts heating. “We make a good team, right?”

“We make a wonderful team,” he smiles and pats your head, ruffling your hair as well. “You were amazing today… No, you are  _ always  _ amazing, Tsuki.” Lucifer starts blushing at his words. “You sure grew up since your first step here, human.” He says ‘human’ playfully, acknowledging how much you dislike being called that. You stick your tongue out to him, also playfully, making the demon chuckle. “For the first time of us fighting together it was quite—”

“Wanna do it again?!” you excitedly cut him off, thinking of the possibilities. That one moment when you and he used the same spell at the same time still feels so magical. Like something you can only see in movies or books. Let alone by complete accident. Maybe you two are meant to be?! And if you manage to convince him to train with you… Dueling with Lucifer… He could even teach you fencing.  _ Surely  _ he knows how to use a sword, right? “Can you teach me swordplay?!”

“Calm down,” Lucifer chuckles. He pats your head and puts both hands on your shoulders, keeping you still. “I am not  _ against  _ it. I do feel like fighting  _ alongside  _ you is better than worrying over you fighting by yourself,” he explains, very calmly. “I can teach you how to use a sword but  _ only  _ if you promise it’s to fight me and  _ me  _ alone in our training sessions.”

“So you mean you’re going to make more time to spend w… Ok! Ok, I promise!” you quickly agree before he can change his mind. Yes! Swordplay! Just the thought of being able to learn how to use a sword makes you excited and happy.

Lucifer only smiles, seemingly content with how that disaster ended. For you both, at least. The demons inside The Fall are probably still killing each other. Lucifer nods and you excitedly thank him, hugging him tightly, almost letting your water bottle fall.

The streets are deserted and not even taxis are coming by so you have to walk a bit. Luckily, you still have your D.D.D. intact in your jacket pocket. You did enchant it for protection. Since the silence of the empty streets is kind of unsettling, you put on some songs to play, walking hand in hand with Lucifer until you can find a taxi. Truth be said, he could open a portal back to the House of Lamentation, but looks like he doesn’t want this night to end, just like you. It was crazy, unpredictable, and you both had to physically fight. But damn, if it wasn't fun!

_ “‘I wanna see your animal side!’ _ ” you scream into the night together with Patrick Stump, remembering how Lucifer truly fights like an animal; that was quite the sight. Frightful at first, but once you put in your head that the demon was on your side, he stopped looking so scary. You must be free from that one trauma now. You hope.

Lucifer stares at you with a funny expression at your sudden outburst, half worried, half amused. Laughing, you hand him your D.D.D. with the lyrics of Death Valley by Fall Out Boys. You know the lyrics by heart after all. 

_ “‘Let it all out. I wanna see the dirt. Under your skin. I need your broken promises. Yeah!’” _

You keep singing loudly, without a hint of embarrassment, just having a good time. But Lucifer only looks at you instead of singing along. Boring, he should sing too.

“‘ _ But don't take love off the table yet. 'Cause tonight. It's just fire alarms and losing you. We love a lot. So, we only lose a little. _ ” You tug him and wink several times, incentivizing him.

“‘ _ But we are alive’… _ ” he sings, voice low and terribly embarrassed, even blushing at it.

“‘ _ WE ARE ALIVE!’ _ ”

You scream so loudly again. The lyrics were never  _ this  _ relatable before. Truly, after passing through so much Hell, especially tonight, you are still alive. And that’s something to be proud of. Never minding Lucifer, you keep singing the next part. The night is young, though it must be way past midnight. It’s very cold, but singing and moving around helps to make the body create energy, and energy generates heat, making you able to ignore the cold air of the Devildom.

“‘ _ We're gonna die. It's just a matter of time. Hard times come. Good times go. I'm either gone in an instant. Or here 'til the bitter end. I, I never know _ —’”

“‘ _ What I've got will make you feel more alive,’ _ ” Lucifer sings suddenly, making you choke on air and stop singing for a moment. You stare at the demon with wide eyes. “ _ I'll be your favorite drug, I will get you high. I will get you high~ _ ” he smirks at your shy reaction. The bastard has been reading the lyrics!

“Fuck you,” you laugh before quickly going back to the singing. “ _ We're still. We are alive,’ _ ” Lucifer sings this part along too. He has a pretty singing voice, it’s so soft, the opposite of what you would expect from him. “‘ _ Here in death valley. But don't take love off the table yet~’ _ ”

“ _ 'Cause tonight. It's just fire alarms and losing you _ .’”

“ _ ‘We love a lot~!’”  _ you sing just a bit higher now.

“ _ ‘So, we only lose a little. But we are alive’. _ ”

“‘ _ We are alive~’ _ ”

You both harmonize the last ‘We are alive’ verses and it feels as magical as when you two fought so in sync side by side. As soon as the song ends, you put it to play again.


	10. Mad IQs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, you will never, ever stop me. 'Cause I'm never gonna quit. Gonna get just what I want. And I am gonna get it quick. (...) Paralyzed by the sum of your parts, oh-oh. Abstracts with a human heart. Captivated but I'm so confused, oh-oh. Burning up in your mad IQ.”
> 
> Mad IQs by I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
> 
> I have end notes today!

**Chapter 10 — Mad IQs**

The incessant sound of an alarm makes you grunt and cover your face with the blanket. Lucifer grunts and moves around beside you. It takes a while, but he finally reaches for the nightstand to turn off the thing. Returning to the comfort of his bed, he announces it’s time to wake up for RAD.  _ Why? _

“Let’s skip today,” you annoyingly suggest. Your body feels heavy and sore. You can’t move around without feeling some sort of pain. Looks like your body isn’t happy with the amount of magic you had to use yesterday. Just like when you had that big fight on the previous exchange program or by the end of the training camp with the witches, your body gets exhausted after using too much magic power. 

“I won’t allow it,” Lucifer says, but he keeps lying in bed too.

“Come on, just one day, I’m tired. It won’t kill you.”

“I am tired too. And we are going, RAD won’t kill you either.”

While you grunt, unhappily, Lucifer sits and pulls the blankets from you. Opening your eyes, you angrily stare at him. Bed hair Lucifer with a silk robe barely covering his body is quite a sight. You must be too, only using one of his button up shirts and underwear. Yesterday, you two stopped to eat at a bar close to the House, you were starving, having only eaten at the cinema hours before all that mess. After finally finding an available taxi, both of you went straight to his room to sleep. You feel like you slept like a stone, right after closing your eyes in the bed. May as well have passed out. You hate that alarm now, RAD is a drag, you don’t want to go. 

Lucifer starts shaking you, urging you to stand, and you grunt again. Giving up, you sit in the bed and rub your eyes and face. Lucifer hums, he’s checking his D.D.D. now. Probably waiting for you? You look down, at your clothes, or rather, the lack of them. Only three buttons on the middle of the shirt are buttoned and the sleeves are falling from your shoulders since the shirt is so big on you. An idea lights on your head and you smirk.

“Heeey,” you whisper, lighty kicking his leg. When Lucifer turns to look, your hands unbutton the shirt and let the cloth slide down a bit on your body. “If we skip classes, we can stay here the whole day~ together~” you say in the most suggestive tone you can manage. Though you keep a calm and composed semblance, your cheeks are already starting to burn with embarrassment. But between fucking and RAD, you pick fucking without hesitation. 

The eyes of the avatar of pride are fixed on your body while he remains in a stunned state for a couple of seconds. Lucifer blinks his shock away and smirks, getting closer so he can run a hand on the lateral of your body.

“Tempting,” he breathly says. His dark eyes are fixed on yours now. Lucifer bends his body until he’s only a few inches away from you, your noses almost touching. His hand lazily carelesses your skin, giving you goosebumps. But instead of taking the shirt off, he fixes it on your shoulders, before letting his hand fall to your right thigh. “Really tempting, but I don’t skip classes.”

“I hate you.” Your smile drops as you suddenly feel annoyed. Unbelievable. How could you  _ NOT  _ be able to seduce the horny old man? What the fuck went wrong? Are you really that hopeless?!

“Don’t be so mad, it was a great attempt,” he smiles. Lucifer tries to go for a kiss, but you push him away, jump off the bed and walk away. “Love~”

“Fuck you, I’m taking a bath and changing in my room!” 

“Tsuki—”

Ignoring him, you get off the bed and walk to the chair where all your clothes have been stacked together, and hastily pull Lucifer’s clothes away to get yours. With your rough movement, you see some plastic thing fall from one of Lucifer’s pockets. Curious, you drop the clothes and inspect the item: it’s a black and purple card. You don’t recognize it on the spot but Lucifer does. He snorts, catching your attention before it evolves in a full blown laugh. Then it hits you: it’s the card from the private room in The Fall. You hug your stomach, knees hitting the ground thanks to how hard you start to laugh, and the card falls back to the ground.

“Do you—” A series of snickers leave you, making your stomach hurt. “Do you…think… _ pff _ …they’ll accept it back?” you manage to say in-between giggles.

Lucifer snorts again, too busy hugging his pillow and laughing to answer.

“I don't—” Lucifer tries to say, a long time later, but laughs again. His whole face is red and there are tears in the corners of his eyes. “I don’t think so,” he says at last. 

During breakfast, all that is needed is for your and Lucifer’s eyes to meet again for another laughing fit to start. The demon brothers only look at the two of you with wonder and curiosity. Minus Satan, who is weirded out by seeing Lucifer laugh.  _ “Ew, I didn’t know he  _ could  _ laugh!” _ the avatar of wrath says. Thankfully, your boyfriend doesn’t look annoyed about last night. He asks if you’re okay when you finish eating, since you were reluctant to go to RAD today. Saying yes, you only ask for some painkillers since your body feels really sore and heavy. The demon gets you some before everyone leaves the house.

The walk to RAD is full of stories of the previous night. The demon brothers are all excited to hear about the shenanigans and the fight. They make all kinds of questions and sigh dramatically when you tell them about everything that happened. 

“I can’t believe Lucifer really lost his composure and fought,” Mammon repeats for what should be the third time now. The greed demon looks pretty much in denial.

“And I can’t believe he fought without us around to see it and help!” Asmo cheerfully comments. “If I had the chance to film Lucifer fighting I’m sure it would be a big hit on my DevilTube!”

“Is your fame everything you think about?” Belphie sighs. Asmo quickly starts bickering with the youngest brother. Knowing how Asmo has a thing for bloodlust, he would forget about filming Lucifer to jump headfirst into a fight. 

“Aw, I miss a good fight! Would like to be here!” Satan complains. “Been so long since I felt the thrill of a good fight.”

“We could spar anytime, Satan,” Beel offers. The wrath demon hums, considering it.

“Not a bad idea, that way I don’t need to hold myself back, right? Think you can hold yourself against me, Beel?” he asks with a mischievous smile.

“Yes. No problem.”

“Please spar as far away from the House of Lamentation as possible,” says Lucifer stoically. The evil laugh Satan gives him makes the demon click his tongue in annoyance. 

“It’s been so long since I fought for real, I’m afraid I’m out of form. I mean, I’m just a useless otaku anyway...” Levi laments. You try to cheer him up, but are quickly interrupted by the avatar of sloth.

“Levi, why would you fight if you can just summon Lotan and win automatically?” reminds Belphie. Oh, that’s right, Levi has threatened to summon Lotan many times already when he gets angry. You kind of wish he could summon Lotan at least once so you can know how the sea monster looks.

“Sometimes your laziness surprises me, Belphie,” you are forced to comment. A laugh isn’t the answer you wanted but is what you expected. 

“What can I say? I  _ am  _ the embodiment of my sin,” he laughs a bit more and smiles, acting as if he were being praised.

“Just like  _ Mammon _ ,” Levi spits.

“Just like  _ Levi!” _ Mammon retords.

And now they are fighting again. Honestly. 

The chatting continues until everyone reaches RAD.

The morning was very normal. Since you were tired and still a bit annoyed that Lucifer didn’t let you skip, you end up sleeping during math class. A concerned Luke wakes you up before the second class starts, worried that you are sick. Reassuring the little angel, you stay awake and pay attention to the rest of the classes.

When leaving the class for lunch break, a demon passes at a run and leaves the new edition of the RAD Newspaper in Asher’s arms. The angel eyes it and exclaims and points at the cover: there’s a big headline about last night's fight in The Fall, supported by several photos of the mess that place became. Your heart skips a beat while Luke and Solomon both step closer, looking at the newspaper with a lot of curiosity. Asher doesn’t waste much time and opens the newspaper, also very interested in seeing the rest of the news. 

“Hey, isn’t this one with Lucifer…?”  _ Lucifer?!  _

The pink haired angel suddenly loses his smile, pointing to something. Solomon stands beside him and examines the photo, all while Luke complains he’s too short to see anything. You and Simeon both step closer too, you hope no one has noticed that you aren’t feeling so well. There’s this uncomfortable feeling in your belly and the palms of your hands are sweating. If there’s a photo of Lucifer there must also be a photo of you! Now everyone will know you two were involved in the big fight (hopefully no one will know it was you and Lucifer who caused it). 

Solomon loses his smile and his expression turns completely serious and even a bit alarmed judging by how much his pupils contract.

“It—It’s Ts—” Solomon chokes on air and doesn't finish his line. 

The second Luke pushes the newspaper, Simeon acts quicker and snaps it from the younger angel's hands. Simeon opens the newspaper in front of you and looks at it with a serious and scary expression. The second you see the biggest photo on that page you feel like someone hit you with the heaviest spell in existence and all the air leaves your lungs. The main photo is one of you and Lucifer kissing in front of the dance floor in The Fall. Your right hand closes on Simeon’s shoulders to support yourself while the other presses over your heart that is beating so fast it makes you think you are having a real heart attack. If Beel punched you, it would hurt less.

_ ‘The whole damn school knows about Lucifer and me now!’ _

Dying but still curious, you try to read what the Hell they wrote about that photo but the words are dancing over the paper, making you unable to read. When you can focus enough to read the headline, the demon word for ‘ _ whore _ ’ is the first thing you can tell apart, which only increases your anxiety attack.  _ OF COURSE _ , the demons would jump at the first opportunity to call you a whore. Typical. What were you even expecting?

“What’s so interesting in the journal?! ...Tsuki are you okay?” Luke starts exclaiming.

“Well, it look like Tsuki and Lucifer are—”

“PRANK!” Simeon screams over Asher’s voice. You feel like you’ll pass out, but you take a look at the ferocious expression Simeon is making and suddenly you feel more awake. The way his brow furrows and his frown is new. You didn’t know he was capable of getting angry like this. “Someone made a prank on Tsuki and Lucifer!” the angel screams with a strong voice. 

Luke flinches at Simeon’s sudden display of anger, but the small boy quickly starts to stomp his feet on the ground in an annoyed manner, exclaiming how it’s unfair for the demons to keep pranking you. Thanks to your anxiety attack, you can’t speak or move.

_ ‘Simeon, how can you explain this is a ‘prank’? Wait no, I have bigger problems. Now everyone will either mock me or Lucifer. They will call me a bitch. I know they will. Say I’m with him only for power, money or status. His reputation will suffer now. What if an enemy of his appears to hurt me? I am so unlucky it may as happen! Oh no, I don’t want to bring him any more trouble! God, WHY. Everything was fine until yesterday, why does this have to happen?!’ _

A panicked shriek echoes through the hallway. You turn just in time to see Mephisto making a brusque stop. He’s sweating, his eyes widen and his mouth drops when he sees the newspaper in Simeon’s hands.

“Please tell me you didn’t s—”

“ **YOU!** ” pointing at the demon, you step closer. Body all trembling with a mix of anxiety and anger. Since the shock of the photos was so big, you even forgot your best friend is the president of the club who  _ makes _ the newspaper.  _ ‘Did he fucking pick the club over me?!’ _ “ **HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO** **_ME_ ** **?! I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS?!** ” The betrayal on your voice stuns Mephisto, who looks completely off guard. When he notices the hot tears forming on your eyes he rushes to you.

“I didn't do it!” Mephisto raises his hand in a peace gesture and shakes his head in front of you. “Please trust me, Tsuki! I would NEVER do you this dirty! I  _ forbade  _ the members to publish those photos, but someone went behind my back!” he pleads, putting emotion on every word. The tears make Mephisto look blurry but he seems and sounds very genuine. Though you spit those words in a moment of fury, you don’t really think Mephisto would do it to you. He really likes you. 

“Sorry—”

“ _ Is that so?! _ ” Belphie’s mocking tone explodes in the hallway. Blinking the tears away, you see the twins and Satan approaching, all looking extremely pissed off. “Then you better find out who did this shit to Tsuki!” he yells.

“All of RAD must have that newspaper in hand by now,” Satan says in an ominous tone.

“I’ll catch the responsible for it or my name isn’t Mephistopheles Flisher Faust Alberto #&$&@!%*,” the illusionist says with determination before nodding at you and dashing out of sight. You blink, not having a clue of what his last name is, sounds even more foreign than demonic language. Maybe it’s from a language even older.

Beel whistles while you stare at nothing in shock.

“Full name,” he comments in awe.

“He’s serious,” Satan says and Belphie agrees, though they still look a bit mad. 

Ah?  _ Oh _ . 

Full names are a serious business for demons. They normally only use a part of it or one of their names. Using their full name like this is like making a pact they cannot break. You shouldn't have even thought, for a second, that Mephisto was behind that. He's not.

“Tsuki’s okay?” Beel comes to you, the big demon cleans a few tears of your eyes. The avatar of gluttony may be a giant mountain of muscles, but he knows how to be gentle.

“I’m really not.” Saying it, you tear up again, but this time you clean your tears yourself. “I don’t even know what I should  _ do _ ,” you lament, feeling pathetic and powerless right now. Beel puts a hand on your back, making soothing movements there, trying to help you calm down. 

“Do you think Lucifer is aware of it by now?” you hear Belphie ask Satan.

_ ‘Lucifer! _ ’

Without thinking twice, you turn to another hallway and start running. All the boys get very confused and scream your name. Soon, they run after you.

_ ‘Need to catch him in his office before the news!’ _

Running to the Student’s Council, you pay attention to nothing else. You don’t know if the demons are pointing at you and laughing or gossiping every time you pass by one, and, to be honest, you don’t care. Making a curve on a hallway, you hit someone who is equally as hurried as you.

“Ouch-! Hã? Tsuki? Whacha doing here?!” Mammon says with his loud mouth. He’s holding your forearms and looking at you. His face has an emotion you can’t quite put into words. He looks over the edge.

“GAH! Tsuki!” Levi exclaims as loudly as Mammon besides his older brother. “You—H-Hi!” the avatar of envy forces a smile and waves, looking all stiff. “Do you want to go have lunch together? Maybe,  _ somewhere  _ else?”

Oh.

“Cut it out! I saw the newspaper!” you scream at them. Both demons gasp and turn as still as stones. Of course they have seen it too. “Where’s Lucifer? Did he find out already?”

“We can’t find Lucifer, he isn’t in his office.” Getting over his shock, Mammon complains in an annoyed tone.

“When we passed by Lord Diavolo and Barbatos a moment ago they said Lucifer left his office in a hurry saying there was a ‘emergency’,” says Levi. “He isn't picking his D.D.D. either!”

“FUCK! He knows!” you scream, feeling way more frustrated now. Legit everyone knows. “Shit, where did he go?” You walk in circles, trying to think.

“I believe he would go straight after the one responsible for the newspaper,” says Satan, awfully calm for your taste.

The responsible one…for the newspaper…

You run again, making the demons scream and run after you once more. Waving, you signal for the boys to follow you. The newspaper club isn’t far. This time Lucifer will try to  _ murder _ Mephisto and you won’t let it happen.

In no time, you reach the right corridor, but as you are about to get to the newspaper club, the door explodes, breaking in several pieces and leaving a hole where it stood before. Someone tries to hold your arm, but, somehow, you manage to escape their grip and run to the exploded entrance anyway.

Inside, the club looks even worse. There are pieces of paper and dust flying in the air. Most of the chairs and overall furniture are all trashed around the place. In the center, two demons, one guy and a girl, lie on the ground. With closer inspection, you see both demons are tied by magic chains in black and purple. Mephisto, in his demon form, stands with a foot over the guy; and right in front of him, on the other side of the room, stands Lucifer, also in his demon form, stepping over the girl. Some other demons—members of the newspaper club—are all hiding behind the destroyed stuff, seeing everything with wide eyes. With the exception of Asmo, who is standing closer to Mephisto gripping a broken D.D.D.. Ah, Asmo was probably hunting the responsibles with Mephisto, that explains why he was missing.

“I can’t  _ believe  _ you did this to  _ me! _ I thought we were  _ friends!” _ Mephisto kicks the guy he’s standing over, who only whines for a second. He’s frowning and his hands are closed in fists. You’re pretty sure you’d never seen him this angry before. “I said to  _ not  _ leak Tsuki’s photos and you had the  _ nerve  _ to change the newspaper the  _ second  _ I looked away!” Another kick, this one with more strength, makes the demon yell.

“Death would be preferable to what I am going to do with both of you,” threatens Lucifer in a truly sinister tone. The demon under him shivers in fear. Lucifer is in his ‘extremely pissed off’ self, eyes glowing in a dangerous red and a dark magic aura surrounding him.

Both demons look about to  _ kill _ . The tied up demons have cuts and burns all over their bodies. Their uniforms are also ruined. If you had to bet, they put up a fight before being caught. For some reason, however, you don’t feel like those demons deserve to die. They should face the consequences of their actions in a different way. An idea sparkles in your head; maybe you can flip this whole situation to your advantage.

“Wait, guys,” you say, mostly timidly. Lucifer, Mephisto and Asmo all look at you at the same time. Seems like none of them had seen you here before. Lucifer and Mephisto have cold and ferocious expressions, barely human like. Asmo just looks a bit panicked. “Please don’t…kill them…”

“ _ Don’t kill them!? _ ” both scream at the same time. You flinch. Your hands go to play with each other as you look away, trying to find courage to say what’s in your head. The demons are only mad  _ because  _ of you. Mammon and Levi start whispering for you to back off, but you ignore their pleas. 

“I…I want to talk—” you start again before being interrupted.

“Since _ when?!” _ Lucifer barks in your direction. “You want to  **_TALK_ ** _?! You _ ? Really? I don’t get you.” He shakes his head, confused and mad. Can’t really blame him.

Looking away again, you rethink your plan. It still feels like it’s worth a shot. Behind you, the other demon brothers, the angels and Solomon are all staring and waving for you to get out of this room. Once again, they are ignored.

“I know it sounds really hypocritical coming from me, but, just give me five minutes to speak to them, I want to propose a deal,” you ask again. Lucifer and Mephisto stare at you with blank expressions for a moment, then, to each other. After what seems like a telepathic battle between the two demons, Lucifer turns to a side and  _ tsks _ . Mephisto steps off of the demon and Lucifer does the same, although reluctantly. 

“Five minutes, then,” Lucifer annoyingly says. 

Stepping closer, you stare down at the demon who almost ruined your life. Definitely ruined your day. You cross your arms and frown to show your annoyance. 

“First things first, why did you do it?”

The demons make quick eye contact. None of them wants to answer. But then Lucifer kicks the girl again and demands her to speak. The demon curses loudly first.

_ “Tsk _ , wanna know? Because we hate humans!” her voice has an indignant tone.

“There are many demons here who hate weak humans, and you’re quite beloved here. Pisses me off,” spits the other demon, even more outraged than his friend.

Your eye twitches at the mention of ‘weak’, and you almost tell Lucifer to obliterate both in the spot. But  _ no _ , not yet. Instead of showing anger, you smile, that awful smile that makes the demons all shit their pants, the one that means trouble. 

“I’m wounded~!” you chirp cheerfully, wearing a fake smile. “Me? A ‘weak’ human? Man, I wish to know what kind of humans you find ‘strong’!” Both demons are looking at each other with confused expressions, as if you have suddenly become crazy. 

“Do you see all those strong demons here?” You wave at Lucifer, Mephisto, Asmo and the boys peeking from the destroyed entrance. “I have pacts with  _ all _ of them! I only need to say a word to end your whole existence!” you keep explaining with a light tone and a smile, as if you’re narrating some cute hamster race. “How is that  _ weak? _ Oh, and let’s not forget I beat a bunch of demon’s arses both here and at The Fall! That’s right, those photos, remember? I didn’t only make out with Lucifer, we also fought an army of demons. I can use magic too.  _ I can  _ **_burn_ ** _ you down to a piece of  _ **_coal if I want to!_ ** _ ” _ At the end, your voice raises with anger. But you stop yourself, calming down. _ ‘No, no, no, I am supposed to have the upper hand here.’ _ Now the tied demons are staring at you with a bit more wariness. 

“How exactly am I ‘weak’?”

The questions fall on deaf ears. A heavy silence falls over the room as everyone looks at you as if you’re some unpredictable beast roaming free. Lucifer likes calling you a 'kitty' but you feel more like a tiger. 

Tired of being looked down on, you are making those demons respect you now, in one way or another. 

“Hear me out now,” you continue, since no one dared to answer your question—even your  _ friends _ are silent. Damn, you must look scary, crazy or both. Ignoring the disgusting looks you’re getting from the awful demons on the floor, you say, “I want to propose something to you both: fix the whole mess with the newspaper and in return, I’ll make Lucifer and Mephisto leave you two free.”

They blink in surprise. 

“You what?” says the girl.

“As if!” retorts the guy.

“I want you two to burn all those newspapers, delete the photos and say it was all fake and a prank on me. Do it and the others won’t harm you,” you explain further, frowning.

The male demon grunts, complaining under his breath, but the girl takes a look at the angry Lucifer who is right next to her and then back to you. She looks way more scared than her partner in crime.

“You promise they won’t hurt us if we do as you say?” she asks, a hint of doubt in her voice.

“I promise.”

“ _ What?” _ the other demon screams. “You are agreeing to do as the human says?”

“Face reality! Would you rather undo what we did or suffer at the hands of  _ Lucifer?”  _ the girl speaks some sense to her friend. “Because I would rather  _ not  _ have a painful and slow death!”

The demon looks disgusted by it. Then his frown softens as he re-thinks his situation. You count until sixty. When a minute pases, you clear your throat, getting their attention. The demon only snaps back at you in alertness.

“Your choice…?” you press for an answer.

The demon grunts and says a series of curses. You wait one more moment, and when you’re about to tell the guys to have some fun with the demon, he makes a choice.

“ _ Fine _ , you won, we agree,” he (very) reluctantly says.

“I knew demons could have reason,” you point out, smiling again. “Luci, let them go. Memphis, do you want to say something else?”

Mephisto steps closer, towering over the demon who was once his friend.

“I want this place  _ clean  _ once all the editions of that newspaper and the photos are destroyed,” he demands. “And right after everything is fixed, you  _ both  _ are  _ expelled  _ from this club  _ forever.” _ Mephisto sends one more death glare to the male demon. “Never speak to me again.” Saying that, Mephisto looks away. He nods to Lucifer and crosses his arms again. He never stops looking angry.

Lucifer hesitates for a moment. He changes his weight from one foot to the other before grunting and snapping his fingers. The chains that bind the demons disappear at once. In the same second, they are standing and checking their bodies for injuries. To be honest, they  _ lack  _ injuries, and part of you still is pretty mad.

“ _ Move _ . Tsuki lacks patience as much as me,” Lucifer orders, scaring the living shit out of the demons. Both stumble forward and run away to do what you told them to. They don’t even bat an eye at you in the run. The boys at the entrance make way for them to dash away.

Looking back, you see Lucifer glaring again at Mephisto. After a few seconds, Mephisto sighs and turns to you. 

“I’m really sorry.” Your best friend loses his angry expression. His shoulders and his eyebrows go down, and his tone of voice loses strength too. Now he only looks sad. “This is all my fault, I should have expected someone would go behind my back to hurt your image. They were all...” he looks away, to the members who are still hiding behind rubble, and his expression turns sour,  _ “way too excited _ about the photos Jordy brought,” he finishes with a  _ tsk _ . Then he sighs, seemingly to let all of his wrath go. “I promise nothing like this will happen ever again.”

“It’s okay, I trust you,” you nod. There’s no reason to doubt Mephisto’s intentions here. The demon smiles a little hearing you say you trust him and reverts back to his human form.

“It  _ better  _ never happen again,” Lucifer cuts in, walking close to you. Still in his demon form too. His wings flicker for a second and he frowns. Is he so pissed off he can’t turn back yet? 

Your eyes go from Mephisto to Lucifer. They are glaring at each other again. Mephisto doesn’t reply.

“Did you two fight—”

“Yes. Believe it or not, it was kind of hilarious,” Asmo says now. You turn aside to see how he’s walking slowly and watching the two demons carefully. He looks fearful, a bit pale and sweating. “Lucifer caught one of the two troublemakers and Mephisto and I, the other. But they started screaming blame at each other right after. Instead of, you know, punishing them.” Despite looking worried, he finishes with a quick laugh.

“You have some balls, Asmo.” You would whistle if you knew how. Asmo only shrugs and winks before walking away to the secure closeness of his brothers. You chuckle when you look back to see Lucifer and Mephisto both looking away in opposite directions and frowning. “Guys, you don’t need to fight for me~ I love both of you~” Your cheeks are already starting to get hot before you even finish talking, but, while it is embarrassing to admit it out loud, you know it will throw the demons off enough for them to stop being angry. 

Mephisto gasps aloud and his face gets red pretty much immediately. Lucifer makes a sound similar to a snort and with some trouble you can spy him blushing too. 

“Thanks.” You finally have the chance to recognize their terribly fast work. “I hope I didn’t cause a lot of probl—”

_ “It isn’t your fault!” _ both Lucifer and Mephisto scream at the same time. They awkwardly exchange glances at it, before turning back. Haha, they are so sweet. “Anyway,” says Lucifer, finally going back to his human form, “I trust Mephistopheles can handle the rest, lunch break must be almost ending.”

“Damn right, I can handle it,” Mephisto murmurs, avoiding the other demon's eyes.

If Lucifer heard him, he decided to ignore the club president. Now that things are taken care of, you leave to try to eat something. Hopefully, you made the right choice here.

There was no way that you could pay attention to any classes later that day. For the rest of the day, you were left to wonder if the demons really did their part of the deal. If only Lucifer didn't have a stick so far up his ass and would let you just go home for the rest of the day… You bitterly wonder if he would let you go home earlier if RAD were on literal fire. He would probably say something sarcastic like “Didn't you want to see this place burn?” Actually. That's a bad example, you would like to see it. 

When RAD ends, you meet them again in the fixed newspaper club. Both promise you they took care of everything. After having done their part of the deal, Mephisto fires the demons indeterminately from the club. They honestly deserve worse, but you decided to take another course of action today, to show the demons you can be physically strong and very cunning.

In the coming days, you are aware of some gossip around you and Lucifer, but you make the effort to pay it no attention. The demon brothers and the others are also making an effort to shut down any rumor as quickly as it starts. For once, you are thankful for their clingness to your person. Your new friends, Belial and Diaval, have been helping too. They are both cool, despite you not spending a lot of time together. Mephisto’s humor has been sour, and some of the members of the newspaper club end up quitting. He reassures you they won’t be missed but you don’t know if he’s speaking the truth or if he just doesn't want to make you concerned. All in all, you trust him to keep doing a good job with the newspaper.

And because you are stupid enough to confirm you were kissing Lucifer in The Fall, now the angels and Solomon also know you two are together. Luke even attempts to stop talking to you, but he doesn’t last a day. In the end, you two talk about it for a long time and you're positive Luke sees Lucifer in a new light now. Lately, the small angel has been less aggressive towards the demons as a whole. 

One odd thing does happen, however, Asher has been speaking less and less to you. At a certain point today, you are convinced the angel had been ignoring you. Puzzled with the sudden change of character, you meet Asher as soon as the class ends. You tell the others to go ahead and stay in the classroom, facing Asher. The angel looks with a bored expression at you. No, bored isn’t the right word, they are more like indiferent. 

“Asher, did I do something to anger you?” you ask, curious and a bit annoyed. Asher is quite straightforward. You would expect them to tell you any complaints they have with your person.

The angel rolls their violet eyes.

“Not really,” they shrug.

“Then, why do I feel like you’re treating me differently? Colder, to be more precise.”

Asher pouts, looking away. With their young face, they look like a giant kid.

“Ok, you got me,” Asher reluctantly admits.

You wait for a moment, but they don’t expand on it. Your patience is running out quickly.

“Just...tell me what happened?” you try politely once more.

Asher sighs and takes a deep breath. 

“I can’t BELIEVE you are dating  _ Lucifer!” _ the angel suddenly explodes. You flinch, surprised by their loud voice and bothered stance. “Out of all the demons, it  _ has  _ to be him?” They throw their hands in the air. You blink. What the fuck? They are mad because of  _ this? _

_ “Excuse me?” _ your tone becomes all indignant too. “Exfuckingcuse me, what the Hell? What is your fucking problem with him?” Now you’re going to the bottom of this. You always wanted to know the drama between them anyway.

Asher hesitates for a second, before losing the last bit of their patience and sighing very loudly.

“Want to know?” Even though it’s a question, they don't wait for a reply. “Oh, of course, you want to.” It kind of stings when they say it like this. “During the Great Celestial War, Lucifer killed my mentor. My best friend.” Their voice is loud with anger and melancholy. “I was a young angel, had just got my first pair of wings and wanted to join Leviathan’s army. I heard many stories of General Leviathan’s army and how they fought the demons with great power, until a peace age happened,” Asher explains. “But then my first battle was against my very own kind! It was awful and ugly. So many of my friends died. So many angels I admired fell,” they finish with a disgusted tone. Their eyes fixate at a random point, heavy with emotion.

You do remember studying about it. Right after Diavolo’s father ended all the civil wars on the Devildom, there was a peace age between the angels and the demons. Partly thanks to Diavolo’s plan of unity between the three realms.

“So, you hate Lucifer because he killed your friend? I would say that’s valid, but it was so long ago, he’s hardly the same person. You should give him a chance.”

Asher scorns, shaking their head. Their long and pretty pink hair sways behind them. 

“I am not surprised you’re defending Lucifer,” they spit, disgusted, “just like  _ everyone  _ else.”

“I am not…! Wait a second…” Asher’s words make you realise what you just said. Didn’t you defend Lucifer just like that back in the Celestial Realm? Didn’t you straight up tell Michael Lucifer doesn’t have to forgive him?  _ Shit _ . Realization hits you like a truck. Has this love made you blindly defend him? When else has it happened? You feel like a breakdown is starting and you miss a couple words that Asher is saying.

“...But it’s not like I  _ care _ . I don’t care about Lucifer and I am honestly sick and tired of all the love around him.”

“I don’t really blame you,” you say after a moment, trying to focus on their words instead of the new mountain of overthinking your brain is throwing at you. Asher has a point and people do tend to either love or respect Lucifer a lot, when they don’t fear him.  _ Ah _ . “Working for Michael must be horrible for you.”

“ _ Tsk.” _ Asher clicks their tongue so  _ loud _ , you are in awe of the fact they haven’t cursed yet. They look like they want to say ‘fuck’ at least seven times in a row. “Luckily, I haven’t been stuck to him forever, but,  _ Lord forgive me _ , sometimes I want to make him eat my fist! He just won’t  _ shut up _ about Lucifer and it…! Makes me mad.” 

The fact that Asher legit won’t curse almost makes you laugh. But you remain strong, biting your inner cheek to prevent a laughing fit. They already dislike you, and if you laugh now, Asher may flat out start  _ hating  _ you. He may have a reason but it's not a good one.

“Okay, you hate Lucifer, I got it,” you say quietly, trying not to anger the angel any longer. “I’m sorry about what I said before, you have all the reasons to hate him, but, I don’t think it’s fair to dislike me just because I date him. You don’t dislike his brothers or Simeon and they all like Lucifer...”

A squint of eyes isn’t what you expected. Asher takes a step forward and walks past you.

“There’s a clear difference. And sadly, I don’t like those who fawn over that, _tsk_ , _fallen_ _angel_ ,” Asher says coldly. “And yes, that includes the Prince of Hell. Father forgive me, but he’s like a stubborn _child_. The Devildom is _doomed_ with someone as childish and naive as him on the throne,” they sigh. Saying that, they walk away.

“Wait, I agree, I dislike Diavolo too—” But Asher doesn’t slow their pace. The angel leaves without saying another word. “Well,  _ that went well! _ ” you yell to the empty classroom, frustration getting the best of you. Talking to Asher felt like talking to a brick wall. Too bad, you would enjoy having someone else in the ‘Diavolo, you S*CK’ gang. 

Sighing, you take your bag and leave too. At least you know why he dislikes you now, that’s something. Can't wait to angrily vent about this conversation to your spider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today we have Behind the Scenes Author's Talk Corner! (shshdhgjsgcjds XD)
> 
> So, this chapter is kind of a filler/side quest LOL Like, in the meaning the main conflict doesn't add nothing to the main story. I just really liked the idea of a 'love scandal' to happen right after Tsuki and Lucifer getting a bit more intimate in public (not sure if it came off that way but they don't normally kiss and hug and etc /like that/ in public, that was the first time!). +I also wanted to have a resolution of the conflict in antoher way, aka, wanting to explore another side of Tsuki that /I/ feel like /I/ don't explore a lot (aka using their cunning to end a problem, kind of like when they won the game/bet over Astaroth. Tsuki may be hot heated/aggresive but they prefer to use their brain to solve problems) but it also stressed me out because /I/ was afraid of it coming off as terribly OOC =/   
> Anyway, I really wanted to write it and after I wrote all of it I didn't had the heart to cut, so here we are. And when I say 'cut' I meant the love scandal, the last bit with Asher is very very important XD ((We'll get there when we get there, I promise.)) 
> 
> One last thing, if, /IF/ I hit my writing goal by next week I'll upload chapter 11 & 12 in the same day. If not, 12 comes a few days later because it's a direct continuation and I feel like the culture festival (ops, spoilers!) should be read as a whole.


End file.
